Unexpected, inevitable
by Idile
Summary: After an incident from a punishment given by McGonagall, Draco is left agitated and inevitably drawn to Hermione. Meantime the students in the castle are being cursed, people come back from the dead and the Golden trio need to find what is going on before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1: The Incident

I do not own Harry Potter or any of it's characters, so this is just me borrowing the characters for this little story of mine. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 1: The Incident

This was the year. This was finally the year she could focus on her studies. Voldemort was dead, and though it caused a great deal of sadness for the whole wizarding world since many lost loved ones and friends, they could finally push that chapter out of their lives and go on living. Yes, this was going to be a wonderful year.

Hermione exhaled as she stepped on the platform. The winter air froze her insides and made her shiver. It was quite chilly for the beginning of winter. No snow, but the wind supplied enough cold for her light coat to seem like paper.

Hermione inspected the platform and started to walk towards the train. She spotted a couple of crying first years who could not let go of their mothers, scared of what this new year would bring to them. A small smile plastered on her face - one particular boy with brown hair was crying his eyes out swearing that he was not going to enjoy this and his parents trying to bribe him to get on the train by giving him candy and hugs. Behind them she spotted a female redhead waving her over happily not too far away. Along with her were the Golden duo, deep in conversation. She grabbed her bags tighter and dashed off towards them. In a few moments she was wrapped in Ginny's arms.

'I missed you Hermione!' – the ginger whispered. Hermione smiled at her and the boys, who simply lifted their head and continued to talk something about 'the best year'.

'I think so too!- Hermione was excited- 'this _is_ the best year because we'll finally be able to study without any interruptions.'

Harry and Ron stopped talking and looked at her. Silence commenced for a few seconds, then Harry pulled out a broad grin and hugged her 'I am glad to see you haven't changed.. not one tiny bit.'

'Still bloody mental about those books. We were talking about something actually important.'- Ron pointed out to her, not ready yet to give her a hug after everything they went through. Yes, the war brought them closer, and yes there was a kiss _per se_ due to the fact they thought they might die, but then that was basically it. She was still Hermione, and they were still best friends and nothing had changed between them, not really. He did value girls, but they were GIRLS and Hermione was not classified as one in his book. She found that out the hard way, after she confronted him about the kiss and he waved it off as being a moment of stupidity. This INFURIATED her **of course**, but she had gotten used to it after the years. After all, she was not pinning for someone who clearly had no interest in her and sought out easier female targets with less brain and less skirt on them.

'What were you talking about then?'

Ginny rolled her eyes. 'Take a wild guess.'

'Quiditch!' both of them exclaimed and Hermione knew that the eye rolling was appropriate.

'Really, you two should finally get your acts together and use this year to study. This is the last year for that you know.'

'No WAY! Are you insane? This is the best year to finally..' – she heard Ron say before a voice farther away in the front shouted 'The heads go to the front to your own compartment, the heads gather at the front of the train!'

'That's my call, I guess I won't be sitting with you guys this time.'

'It's okay, we'll meet up later. We have a whole year a head of us."- Harry offered and waved to her as they climbed on the train.

She nodded and walked out to the front of the train, climbed in and took her solitary walk towards the head's compartment. She was given a badge before she climbed on, by a teacher she did not recognize. The badge gave her much attention- everyone turned their heads to look at her. Older students - in admiration for what she had done, the younglings - in interest. Most of them had heard gossip about the golden girl and were either blushing or whispering. Even the slytherins she passed by seemed to have changed their attitude towards her a little. Well, no mudblood comment passed up and it made her happy. Everyone had been changed by the war. Not all changes were harsh and unwelcome. The war brought everyone closer and made everyone a little less opinionated. She opened the door and plopped down on her seat.

A small smile spread out on her face and she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Moments after she heard the sound of slow synchronized footsteps behind the door to the compartment and saw a tall shadow behind the doors. Hermione had to admit she was curious to see who made head boy. Somehow she was so happy to know she was a head girl that she completely forgot to inquire about the head boy. They would be working together for the whole year and possibly be able to help each other with studies as well. She hoped it was someone from ravenclaw- she would get along well with someone smart, whose head was not wrapped up in Quiditch or girls.

The door slowly opened and she was met by a boy with blond hair, a cold stare of stormy grey eyes and a genuine scowl she knew all too well. She had forgotten about _him_. Of all the possible choices of head boy it had to be **HIM**. The insufferable git extraordinaire.

'Malfoy.'- she greeted between clenched teeth.

'Granger.' – he replied with just as much enthusiasm. – 'Were you sleeping here, or why the hell are you here so early?' – he narrowed his eyes.

'I came here ten minutes ago and I do believe that punctuality is something a good head girl should possess.'

He sneered at her comment. Obviously she was the same. She probably was ecstatic to come back to school to put her head in a book. She was a pathologic book lover. She probably slept with one too.

"A good head girl should be someone who can give good h.."- he smirked and thought, but decided to keep that comment to himself. '_try to be nice to people. We have lost a lot of respect for the Malfoy name after the war._' – he remembered his mothers words and crunched up his nose. It was utterly impossible with this hyper enthusiastic studying virgin maniac. Her enthusiasm irritated him. To be quite frank - _everyone_ did. They were all so chipper all the time, after all that happened it was unnatural.

So he just sat down and said nothing. That had taken a lot of effort though.

Granger was taken aback by his silence.

'Why are you so quiet? We do have to start to communicate somehow. Did you forget that we will have to be working a lot this year since we are going to be heads?' – she hoped he had at least the decency to understand that all their history had to be put aside due to this huge responsibility put on them.

He growled. 'Could you shut up for one damn minute, Mudblood? I would be grateful if you'd let me rest for one minute before this damn year starts.'

She was furious. She thought that after all this time he finally gave up on his prejudices. After all the war had ended. ' Lose the attitude Malfoy. You know I'm not scared of your little outbreaks anymore. All you are is a scared little boy who can' hide behind his father's shadow anymore since he's locked up tight in Azkaban. And good riddance!' – she yelled but realized that she probably did go too far. He was at fault for still using the 'M' word when she felt so safe and happy to come back to school but her choice of words was probably a poor one.

Immediately, like he had been stung, his eyes narrowed, his face twisted into a snarl and he stood up abruptly. Draco lowered his head to meet her eyes and gave a deep throaty growl.

'**Don't. You. Dare. Talk. About. My. Father. EVER.' – **Draco emphasized each word with precision. – Just because Weasley hasn't shagged you well enough doesn't mean you have to let out your frustration at me.' – his snarl turned into a smirk as he started to gather up his things.

Hermione's cheeks flushed and she barely contained her fury. 'Listen up, Malfoy, I!..' – she was about to say but he swiftly opened up the compartment door to leave. 'Where are you going?'

'Away from your bitching. Since you are right that I am going to have to see a lot more of you this year, and trust me, I am soo _**excited**_about that, I do wish to at least spend this train ride in perfect silence. Later, scarecrow.' The door slammed shut and he was out.

It took a few minutes for Hermione to gather herself, then she pushed through the compartment door and yelled to a blonde retreating figure a 'But the head's are supposed to stay in this compartment' and he just waved her off without even turning around 'Fuck off Granger'.

She crossed her arms and hmphed. He had not changed. Still the same git as before. Never in her life would she get along with him. He was incapable of human conversation.

Hermione met up with her friends only in the dining hall. She was incredibly happy to find out that the heads were still sitting at the tables of their respected houses. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. She was still staying with the other Gryffindor's; she'd just have to meet him up for duties. She could survive that.

'So, how was the Head's compartment?'- Harry and Ginny seemed sincerely interested while Ron was watching a particular piece of meat on the table.

'Oh I'd rather not talk about it. It was fine after Malfoy left, but he was as he always has been. If not even more infuriating.' – she began to talk until she noticed Ron quietly trying to shove some food down his mouth. 'Ronald Weasley! You know you aren't supposed to touch any of the food until the headmaster arrives! Geez, don't you have any self control?'

'Oh come on Mione, I'm hungry as hell! The train ride took forever... and they don't serve any real food in the train anyway, it's just snacks. How am I supposed to get full on that?' – Hermione sighted. It was hopeless. His one true love in life was Food; well, second to Quiditch maybe.

'Wait a moment now, Malfoy? As in _Draco Malfoy_ is the new Head boy? You joking, Mione? – Harry couldn't believe it. 'As in son of a deatheater who is imprisoned and former deatheater himself - DRACO MALFOY is going to be head boy with you?' Hermione nodded silently. 'I mean wow… well I can't wrap my head around it. I'm sorry for you Mione.'

A small cough was heard in the dining hall as professor McGonagal stepped onto the platform. She looked at Potter who understood when he was supposed to stop talking and pierced Ron Weasley with her glare, who was trying to finish up his last bite unnoticed. From the Slytherin table everyone sniggered. Weasley was as popular with them now as he had been any other year.

'Welcome everyone to the new and restored Hogwarts! I, as the official Headmaster of Hogwarts, would like to welcome each one of you to a new year in this brilliant school that has become like a second home to all the students here and surely will warm up to all the new ones we have this year. I am sorry that this year was cut short due to extensive repairs we had to do on the castle. We will compensate for your studies only starting in December. Yes, do not be saddened, we will put the extra learning amount into your curriculum so that you do not miss a thing.'- this was met by Hermione's sigh of relief and everyone else groaning.

'What the bloody hell Harry? Has McGonagal actually gone bonkers? Who in their right mind would be happy about extra studying! And here I thought this year we could finally relax..'- Ron whined.

'Well I am extremely happy about it'- Hermione stated proudly, but was met by Ginny, Harry and Ron rolling their eyes, even Neville joined in.

'That makes you the only one, Hermione'- Neville whispered from next to Harry.

'As I was saying,'- MacGonagal interrupted the little whispering session the Gryffindors were having.- 'I do have a few announcements to make. First of all, every year we pick the brightest and the most diligent students to take the positions of Head boy and Head girl. They have various duties that help Hogwarts function so well. Under careful consideration the Head girl was chosen from my own house- Hermione Grange'r- she smiled and waved her hand towards the Gryffindor table for Hermione to come forward. Hermione was met by a huge applause from the table and she stumbled shyly towards the headmaster.-'And Head boy is a bright young man from Slytherin Malfoy.'

Draco stood up silently, but was met my gasping from all the house tables. Only a few claps could be heard. Apparently a lot of the former students still remembered which side he had been standing on during the war. _Just peachy. _Draco brushed his hair out of his face with his right hand, put his hands into his pockets and silently walked up front to join Hermione Granger. He kept his glance low, not meeting anyone's eyes.

'These will be the two students to look up to and come to in case of trouble and need. They will stay in the Head boy and girl rooms that are in the South part of the castle, so feel free to report any incidences or any problems to them there.'

Even though he wasn't looking at her he could feel the shock and anguish radiating from Granger when she heard they were going to be staying together. He could not resist turning to her to catch her fuming. _At least I can make one person more miserable from this than me. _His trademark smirk crept its way onto his features.

'Also some new teachers will be joining us this year, but they have yet to arrive, so I shall introduce them tomorrow during breakfast. and Ms. Granger will be shown their new rooms after dinner, till then you are to join your tables. That will be all, everyone please enjoy this wonderful first evening in Hogwarts this year. Oh and one more thing- Weasley, please visit my office after dinner.'- she finished sternly and Ron gulped- yes, she had noticed him stealing that chicken drumstick before her speech.

The blond slytherin sat down on the sofa in the slytherin common room. He lounged back, put his feet up and closed his eyes. He could feel the crowd thinning around him. He was not sure if he was enjoying it or not, but it did feel like unwelcome change.

'Your popularity seems to grow in hours, not days.'- a dark skinned wizard smirked and sat down next to him on the sofa.

'Very funny, Blaise. Now go chew on a painting or something.'

'You seem to be in an _awesome_ mood. Is Granger to blame, or is this?'- he pointed towards the other slytherins, that were turning their heads and whispering profusely.

'You know how much I _adore _and I do mean **ADORE** my fellow head girl. And this- this alienation is just awesome. I mean I can finally hear the quiet of the walls, enjoy serenity and all that shit.'- he sat up and laid his feet on the ground looking up at Blaise.

'Oh how much I've missed your sarcasm.' Zabini snickered. 'This will pass though. Most of them have heard of the big bad deatheater Draco Malfoy and are scared. Others just tag along. Just put on your Malfoy charm and everything will go back to normal.'

Draco raised an eyebrow.

'Or if it doesn't... Me, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Theo will _make_ them forget it.'

'You sound _so threatening_. I think even **I** got scared.'- he smirked. 'Good to know you're still on my side, mate.'- he added as he rose from his seat.

'So scared you're leaving now, Draco?'

'Petrified. I think I'll go hide out in Bushy head's room'- he smiled a genuine smile in Blaise's direction. It was good to know he still had his friends. He'd just have to work up to 'clearing the family name' in this new modern wizard society.

Two weeks of bickering and verbal sparring between the 'ferret' and the 'bookworm' (as they referred to each other) passed by. They had various duties to fulfill and predictably enough, they always got into fights. When they were working separately, everything went smoothly, but when they had to share a task it always ended up the same way.

One Saturday morning professor McGonagall called both of them over into her office.

They sat down in front of her table while looking at each other with disdain. They had had another fight in the morning over bathroom privileges. Draco had taken a long time in the bathroom and she had barely had time to prepare, his excuse being that she doesn't use the time efficiently when she does have it. Hermione was pondering of charming the shower faucet to make the temperature of the water change every ten seconds from extremely hot to extremely cold. Or maybe even charming the water so his whole body would be covered in pink and blue spots. She'd have to decide tomorrow, but something would definitely be done.

'I've asked you two to come here because I have seen the way you two work together and it is really disappointing. I put you two up for Head boy and Girl so you could maybe sort out your differences and show the other houses that you are able to communicate and work together efficiently. Apparently some punishment is in order so you two can learn to work together better.' – she paused a while before continuing in her stern voice. 'Well, this year I've decided to have the Christmas decorations put up early. The prefects have to put up all the fake snow and everything else and I decided to give you two the task of putting up enchanted mistletoe all over the castle. One thing though- this _is supposed to be punishment_. So you cannot use your wants to put it up, you have to do it with your hands.'

'But professor! It will take us **HOURS**… There are a lot of them and the castle is big! I have so many other things to do today!' – Hermione exclaimed, not believing that she was stuck on a task with Draco Malfoy for hours and hours to spend the Saturday with. She was hoping to do some studying and read a few chapters ahead for their potions class.

'Like _you_ have something better to do. I've seen your 'things to do'. One way or another it always involves you+1. That plus one is always a book.' – Draco sneered. He was hoping to join Blaise to practice some new Quidditch tactics, but he was stuck with her again. _Great. _Why did he agree to this head boy stuff again? Maybe they forced him into it. Somehow he failed to remember.

'Sod it, Malfoy. I **do** have things to do.' – Hermione blushed nonetheless, she hated him being right.

'Language, Miss Granger.'- McGonagal reminded. 'Anyway, wands are prohibited until you finish hanging them up. When you do put them up, rub their leaves a little bit between your fingers and they will start to work. Remember those mistletoes have some magic in them, so anyone who stands within 5 feet of each other will end up kissing.'

There were two boxes there and Hermione went up and tried to lift one, but struggled. Draco watched her for a moment with an amused expression, then went up and easily lifted the two boxes into his arms.

'Hey, I could have taken one of those myself.'

'_Sure_ Granger. You are not a girl, you are Hercules. Next time I'll wait those one hundred years for you to lift it, but for now let's just go. I want to get this over with.'- and off he went.

Back in her office McGonagall sighted, stood up from her desk and went over to the staircase. Up the stairs was a painting of Albus Dumbledore, who was smiling kindly at her.

'Are you sure Albus that this is necessary?'- she asked him.

The portrait nodded. 'Minerva, you know that enchanted mistletoe is a tradition of Hogwarts that brings young people's hearts together.'

'Oh pshah Albus. There is nothing in the world that can bring those two to at least be decent to each other. Even as a portrait you apparently are planning something with that mistletoe, so why don't you go ahead and tell me.'

'Me, planning something? How can a portrait plan anything my dear Minerva?'

'I'll find out sooner or later, Albus. You can keep your secret.'

The portrait just smiled knowingly at her, but nothing else was said between them.

'Okay for the hundredth time, Malfoy, push the ladder to the right!' – Hermione looked down at him frustrated.

'And for the hundredth time, I am not touching that thing. You do remember the five feet rule, don't you? I am not going to be a victim of your troll lips. I do have a reputation to keep up with. This is humiliating enough doing this without magic. The ladder is even a muggle one. Where the hell did that old cook find a muggle ladder in a magical school?' – he sneered from the furthest corner in the room. 'Plus, this is already the last mistletoe, can't you move the fucking ladder _yourself_? Go down, then move it and go up again. See, I am so generous that I even offered you the solution to your problem.'

'Oh for the love of Merlin, Malfoy!' – she went down the ladder and pushed it to the right. Then climbed up and attached the last mistletoe, rubbed the leaves with her fingers and went down the ladder satisfied.

The brunette adjusted her hair, which was a little bit all over the place and narrowed her eyes at him.

'You do know that you have **no** reputation.'

'I'd beg to differ. I have girls falling at my feet, ready to kiss the ground I walk on.' – he spat back.

'Correction: you _**had **_a lot of girls, who saw your money and your looks, but now they know the real you.'

'What is the real me per se, bushy-head?'

'**This **is the real you, ferret. You are a vile treacherous slimy snake who takes care only of his own skin and cares for no one else.'

'Why thank you, I do find snakes to be quite charming.'- he smirked. 'My slytherin charm is what gets those girls screaming for me. Do you know that even today five girls already asked me on a date, Granger? You, on the other hand are going to be a spinster forever.' – he slowly walked towards her. 'You are about as beautiful as a **troll** on a bad day, you dress like a grandmother and your ultimate lover is and always will be 'Hogwarts- a history'. '

'You take that back, ferret! I am not a troll, I am a lady and I am not going to be a spinster. Just because you whore yourself to every girl that throws herself at you, doesn't mean everyone should be the same.' – she countered angrily, straightening herself up, her fierce glance never leaving his grey eyes.

'You know how I know that indeed you are a troll?' – he took another few steps closer to her and was only a few feet away now. The slytherin bent down, looked the Gryffindor straight into the eyes and whispered- 'It's because even after Weasley had you, he realized what you are and didn't want you any more.'

Her eyes slightly shifted, tears almost forming on her eyes, but then a thought hit her to look up; he joined her in a second to see what she was looking at and their eyes went wide: **the mistletoe**.

One. Two. Three. They heard a small crackling sound and were pulled towards each other instantly. Both of their lips crashing together in a kiss. Draco was too shocked to be angry. He tried to move, but that resulted in him feeling her lips more and they were… extremely soft. He closed his eyes to catch that feeling better and he felt like he wanted to feel more. He slowly moved his lips against hers and the more he did, the more he wanted. She tasted _divine_. For a moment he forgot who he was and where he was. All he could feel was that amazing kiss and the voice inside of him telling him to grip her tighter and kiss her more. But then it came to him it was HERMIONE GRANGER he was currently lip locking with and with fury he separated from her. She appeared frozen in her spot: wide eyed and her fingers absentmindedly touching her lips, looking at him with a confused expression.

Two minutes passed and none of them said anything. The blond boy with grey eyes held a face full of anger, fear and confusion. What could he bloody well say? The mistletoe made them kiss for a second and then he felt like he liked it and continued. He hated himself for this though, 'wait' he though, 'scratch that- it was all the mistletoe.'

When he was about ready to say something, he looked at her and his resolve shattered- all he could focuss on were her full red lips that seemed a little bit swollen from his kiss. "_Fuck" _he thought and did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He ran.

**Well that was Chapter one. I do hope you enjoyed this little dabble. Never written a HP fanfiction, never tried, though have read tons and tons of them. I really hope someone will enjoy this and will find time to write a review! See you in the next chapter : )**


	2. Chapter 2: repercussions

Chapter 2: repercussions

He was restless that night. His dreams were haunted by that fated night Dumbledore died in the Astronomy tower. That kind smile on the old man's face looking at Draco, as if telling him it's _okay_, this was _supposed_ to happen. The grief on his godfather's face still fresh as if he really was there at that moment, clutching his wand, looking at the eyes of the man he once learned from. The madness in the eyes of his aunt, extremely pleased with the fall of that great man…

Draco awoke trembling. The blonde sat up in his bed, sweat trickling his forehead, his heavy pants surrounding the silence of the room. He rubbed his face with his hands, tried to slowly calm down. It had been a few weeks since he had **that** dream. Every time it was like the first time. So fresh, so livid, still haunting him.

'A nightmare again, Draco?'- came a slow inquiry from the front of the room.

Draco did not reply anything, but simply nodded and got out of his bed to run a hand through his hair. Then he looked at the eyes of the portrait that was looking at him with concerned eyes.

'Is it 'that' dream?'- asked the portrait of Severus Snape. Draco simply turned around and walked off towards the wardrobe to pick up a towel. Snape sighted. Even as a portrait he was thankful to have ended up here in the young Malfoy's company, who was not that much of a talker, rather than somewhere in the Headmaster's office. The previous headmasters were not a good company to keep, plus all the visitors of the headmaster always went to look at the paintings and he hated the attention. As his previous real self he did like the calm a lot more.

'I am off to the shower.'- Draco simply stated, nodding his head in Snape's direction.

Snape simply said 'ah' and continued to stir some potion. Although it bothered him how it tired Draco, he decided not to bother his godson. He'd talk to him about it when he was in a better mood.

After his shower Draco noticed that it was quiet in their common room. She was not here. Clearly it was quite early for a Sunday, but she had already gone. He was somewhat thankful for not having to deal with her after yesterday. Her blushing face and her fingers touching her lips still visible in his mind. He felt angry at himself for such a thing to happen. He was clearly hoping she didn't tell anyone and that noone saw. It was _**unacceptable**_. He would have sunk extremely low if anyone knew that he had kissed the bushy head Granger girl. Someone that was not even good enough for a Weasley. He shook his head in disgust. Why did he have to think of that redhead idiot?. He decided that some breakfast was in order and maybe he needed to get some girl to forget about yesterday. Someone gorgeous to get his mind off things. He decided that was definitely what he needed. So he put on a blue jacket, a white shirt and some black pants and strutted out into the hallway.

As he walked into the Dinning Hall everyone was chatting excitedly but as usual he received some looks, but not all were unfriendly. He eyed a blonde ravenclaw practically eating him with her eyes. He smirked. Clearly he knew he had plans today, so the day was already improving. He walked over to the slytherin table and sat down near Blaise.

'You're dressed up but your face looks like shit. What happened?' – Blaise inquired and Draco just shot him a questioning look.

'Clearly you are jealous of how I look yet again, Blaise. Please don't cover up your jealousy with those lame insults. It's not befitting.'

'Okay, if you say so'. – he rolled his eyes and Pansy giggled.

'Draco looks as handsome as always.'- she smiled broadly at him. Draco winked at her.

'At least someone appreciates true beauty when they see it. You know Blaise, I get tired from being so handsome, that's why I look so exhausted today.'

'Oh really?'- the dark wizard smirked. –'Is that why? I thought it was because you and Granger were hanging up Mistletoe all over the castle like muggles yesterday.' – he whispered into Draco's ear.

Draco's eyes shot up immediately.

'How the hell do you know?'

'I have my sources. I am after all, a slytherin.' – Blaise sniggered.

'If you say _**anything **_to anyone I swear I'll…'-

'Oh calm down, Draco. You know I'll keep it a secret… for a price.'- he smiled with a genuinely handsome smile showing his perfect white teeth.

'You know here I thought for two minutes that maybe they sorted you into the wrong house.'- Draco smirked. 'But there you go again reminding me how well that sorting hat functions.'

They both laughed and received puzzled looks from Goyle and Pansy.

Malfoy then noticed the quiet entering of the girl that haunted him since last night. Hermione Granger entered the Dining Hall clutching a book, looking quite unblemished by yesterday's event. He eyed her sitting down at the Gryffindor table, only to be greeted by her friends. He narrowed his eyes.

She seemed _normal. _Her friends were not whispering profusely and certainly not turning around in his direction or pointing. She had the decency to not tell anyone. He was secretly relieved. Well, she earned his respect by not behaving like a typical girl. But she never did act like a typical girl, so that shouldn't have surprised him.

Never once did she look at him, but continued eating and chatting with her friends. It was then that he caught a moment and focused on her. It was probably the first time that he actually took the time to look at her. She did have very specific features, but her face was attractive. Her eyes were a perfect hazelnut brown and her hair was not as messy as it had been a few years ago. Now it fell into perfect chestnut waves and framed her face. He had to admit that calling her 'bushy head' or 'scarecrow' had been seriously inappropriate. She brushed a curl from her face as it gently fell and he almost felt a tingle creep up his spine. That was when Pansy's voice brought his focus back to his own table.

'Draco, you're staring at the Gryffindors.'- she told him simply.

He snapped back but had a quick retort. 'Oh I was just amazed at how much Weasley can eat. I always knew they were poor, but I never knew they were that poor that he had to stuff his face like there was no tomorrow.'

Everyone at the slytherin table laughed and took it as simply that. Blaise, however, eyed Draco suspiciously and looked back at the trajectory his gaze had been. No, Weasley had not been the center of his attention. Ron Weasley was sitting two seats away. Right where Draco's gaze had been was a different person. The famous Golden Girl. Zabbini was intrigued. He would have to pursue this a little further.

Draco and Blaise, along with Crabbe, Goyle and Theo stood up from their table to go. Draco could not resist taunting his redhead adversary.

'The Weasley house must be poorer than I thought. To have to stuff food down his cheeks like a hamster. Going to bring some home for the family? If you are that desperate, maybe I can ask my house elves if there are some leftovers for you to take home.' – the blonde snickered and so did everyone at their table among a few ravenclaws and hufflepuffs.

Ron Weasley stood up from his seat, fury in his eyes radiating as bright as his hair.

'Sod offff Malfffoy! Weff areff notff thatff poorff...'- he mumbled while still having a lot in his mouth.

Hermione smacked Ron with a book.

'Don't talk with your mouth full Ron! You're just making it worse.' – she yelled.

'Sit down, Ron. It's just Malfoy being Malfoy. You know he's all bark and no bite. '- even Harry had to agree. 'Besides, it makes them angrier if you just ignore them.'

'Why can't you be as a mature as Harry about this?'- Hermione sighted.

Ron sat down quietly, finished chewing his food and then lowering his eyes answered.

'It still bothers me, you know.' Harry put a hand on his shoulder.

'I know, Ron. However his words will seem dry when we beat them at the match.'- he smiled and made Ron jump up happily from his seat.

'Yeah, we will beat the living crap out of them!'

The slytherins just rolled their eyes at the Gryffindors. So damn loud and enthusiastic, it was sickening.

'What about sneaking out to Hogsmeade today, Draco?' Theodore Nott asked. 'I sure could use some company.'

'Come now, Theo, have you forgotten that this dear slytherin is the epitome of perfection now since he's been made Head boy? Diligent and all that. Working hard, never late, never doing anything _like breaking the rules.' _– Blaise patted Draco on the shoulder.

'Yeah, _**that**_ and I have a date with an eager Ravenclaw.'- he grinned.

'Well isn't shagging in school actually breaking the rules?'

'Not if I am the one responsible for patrolling that part of the school.'- and with that he waved and was off in the opposite direction.

Hermione was positively freezing near the practice field. She agreed to go with Ginny, Harry and Ron to watch them practice Quidditch in the field near the castle, but she had not anticipated how cold it was going to be. Her coat did not provide the necessary warmth thus she was shivering intensely. She even contemplated burning her book for warmth. And that meant she was positively freezing. She tried to ask the others to go home earlier, but they were happily flying about, moving - thus completely hot, not understanding her predicament. Hermione clutched her Potions book to her small frame, hoping it would provide some shelter from the strong winter wind but it did not. Damn her for agreeing to overlook their practice. She should learn to say _no_ sometimes, even if it is her friends.

A few floors higher in the castle a very steamy display was taken place. A tall handsome blonde boy was heatedly kissing and pressing against the wall a very happy looking ravenclaw. It had barely taken a note and a few compliments and the girl was butter in his hands. He had to admit that whoever said seducing girls was hard obviously knew nothing about them. They were creatures of emotion. A few nice words, show her some attention and that was it.

Her torso pressed against the wall, her legs wrapped around him, her expression melting for him and yet he felt reluctant. It was hot, sure, but it felt like **nothing**. He could have been kissing a brick and it probably would have felt the same. He continued on his task, but his mind drifted backwards one day to that involuntary kiss. He pulled away for a moment and she immediately attacked his neck. Meanwhile he looked through the window. He noticed the Golden duo and the female Weasley on the field flying about, most likely practicing some Quidditch moves. He also spotted a small feminine figure that was shivering near the field in the snow, holding her book like it was a shield. He exhaled. 'Stupid girl, what is she wearing in this cold weather.'- was all he thought, while continuing to stare at her, fighting the urge to go down there and yell at her for her stupidity.

As he contemplated his female companion noticed his concentration on the window more than her and was displeased.

'What's wrong, am I not doing it right, Draco?'- she asked both concerned and unhappy with the sudden stop of their actions.

'No, it's fine. I just remembered I have to something to do.'

He plastered himself away from her and put on his jacket. 'Next time…'- he paused for a moment to recall her name, yet nothing came to mind.-'.. sweetheart.' – he waved as he grabbed on his thick robes.

Hermione was beyond shivering now. She felt every little breeze like it was a blizzard. Who invented winter? Why couldn't it always be warm?

'Enjoying the beauty of winter, Granger?'- came a slow taunt from a little bit further.

She moved in the direction of the voice and was met by an unhappy expression and icy grey eyes of Malfoy.

'Yes, immensely.'- she replied and turned back towards the field. The trio was so busy with their routines that they missed Malfoy approaching the field. He did appreciate that she still had the energy for sarcasm. 'Why are you here, Malfoy?'

'Even though the idea of you freezing to death does bring some joy to me, but I know that if you _did_, one way or another they'd blame me for it. You know, Malfoy is always up to no good or something like that.'- he shrugged. Somehow it made Hermione feel sorry for him.

She looked at him for a moment and he caught her gaze. The blue didn't suit her at all. Her warm cheeks were icy and deprived of all warmth. He felt a want to touch her cheek, but brushed it off.

He took off his coat and put it on Hermione. She was extremely surprised, but before she could say anything he hushed her, taking her hand in his and showing her the blue in her fingers.

Then when she started to regain her color, he turned away and simply left.

Hermione Granger was left astounded. Draco Malfoy had come to her and without any insults given her his robe, which was not only thick and protected her well from the winter breeze, but was enchanted so that it warmed her up instantly. Minutes later she was looking human again, the warm air escaping happily from her nostrils. It was a strange day indeed.

Soon after Ginny landed next to Hermione and asked her if she wanted to go back.

'You know what, I'm okay now Gin. I can stay a bit longer.'

'You're not freezing anymore?'- she eyed the brunette. 'Where did you get this robe from?'

For a moment Hermione panicked and checked the part where the House crest was supposed to be visible and noticed that it was conveniently gone.

'Oh someone came and lent it to me. You didn't see who it was?'

'No... I didn't. Was it someone from Gryffindor?'

'Um no... It was someone from Ravenclaw. I rushed him out so that he wouldn't see your Quidditch moves.'

'Oh! Good thinking Hermione! You always think of everything.'- the redhead jumped on her broom again. 'Well we're finishing up anyway, so we'll go back soon, so hang in there.'

"I think of _**everything**_, but I forget to bring some warmer robes for staying outside." Hermione felt like mentally smacking herself. But help does come in unexpected ways she also concluded. And her thoughts lingered on a tall handsome young man retreating in the snow. The blond hair matching the glistening white snow perfectly. She shook her head. "Malfoy is not handsome."

It was the day before Christmas that headmaster McGonagall asked the Head boy and Head girl to join her in her office.

' , Miss Granger I am so sorry to ask this of you, but you are my most trusted students. You know the Winter Ball is coming up after Christmas and I do need you to help me with the preparations. Most of the students will be gone for the Holidays and what I ask of you is very selfish, but I do hope you will stay and help.' – McGonagall asked them sincerely, she would however understand if they declined, since many of the prefects before them were summoned home for Christmas by their parents.

'Of course I will stay and help professor. I don't expect Malfoy will however, since his family will be expecting him.'

He eyed her carefully. And she did not have a family? Why was she so eager to stay?

'I will stay as well.' – he simply said without much enthusiasm, but was barely bothered by it. He would go home for the next holidays; his Mother would survive without him at home for a couple more weeks.

Hermione smiled pleased that she wasn't going to have to stay alone in the Head's dormitories. It would be quite lonely. She did prefer staying in Hogwarts to option a- which would be going back home where her parents still didn't remember her as their daughter and treated her like a distant relative that was living with them or to option b- which would be going back to the Burrow, what would be quite depressing spending the first Christmas with so many people gone. It was George's first Christmas without Fred and she was not keen on seeing so many sad faces.

With a little convincing she managed to convince Luna and Ginny to stay. Apparently a little bribing was in order too. Luna stayed without any convincing, but Ginny asked for one of her hidden cute dresses for the Winter Ball in return. She was probably one of the few that had seen Hermione's hidden stash of beautiful gowns in her closet. Even though she practically never wore them, apparently she liked to have them. She called it being _prepared_ for special occasions.

After extensive work on the list for all the needed things, arranging their arrival in time and other organizing stuff they were free for the evening. They had been working rather smoothly the entire time. Draco rarely made any snide comments and Hermione was calm enough when he did. Al the while he kept stealing glances at her in secret, hoping she didn't notice.

Malfoy was sitting in their common room after he was done with his tasks, waiting for Blaise to come over. He didn't really need to convince his fellow slytherin to stay; he was not one for family traditions either.

Hermione walked out of her room all nervous, fumbling with something behind her back and walked over to him shyly. He noticed the fumbling brunette and raised an eyebrow, slowly slurping on his hot chocolate.

'What's gotten your panties in a knot, Granger?'

She exhaled and pulled out a neatly wrapped see through plastic box with a red ribbon.

'Merry Christmas!'- She burst out and handed him the box.

His eyes went wide with disbelief. She was giving him a present? He placed the cup on the table, took the box carefully and starred at it.

'I know it's nothing special, just homemade cookies, but I still wanted to give you something. You did stay here during the Holidays as well so this is just that you don't miss home and... yeah… um that's it.' With that she was blushing and wanting to run away. It was her gesture for saving her from freezing a week before and she secretly hoped he wouldn't at least throw them out. She hoped maybe he'd try one even though she knew his opposition to anything made the muggle way.

He felt like a little boy, getting an unexpected present. A small smile appeared on his serene features and she caught it. As briefly as it came, it was gone. He tried to plaster his usual snarl on his face, but somehow it just wouldn't stick.

'Thanks'- he mumbled and looked positively uncomfortable. He did the only thing he could think of and went to his room. There he rummaged a box he had and brought her something. When he came back he asked her to extend her hand towards him.

'Is this some trick? You're not going to put some green goo there, are you? Because the last time I did that Ron put some from his brother's store and my hands were gooey for the next week, I say that's some nasty thing to try and get off…'

He groaned. 'I'm not _**Weasley**_. Trust me and extend your hand.'

She did as he asked reluctantly and he put in a hair clip in her palm. It was a small sparkling dragonfly with black and green stones for wings. She was at a loss for words.

'I can't accept this. It looks extremely valuable.' – she whispered.

He loved how astounded she was. 'It was my grandmother's. One of the things I have lying around. And it's _nothing_. I just hate feeling indebted to anyone, so it's yours.' It was true, it was just a little thing and she was making a big deal out of nothing. He still enjoyed that she realized just how rich he had to be.

She quickly jumped up and hugged him, leaving him astounded and then dashed out the door to meet her friends in the Gryffindor dorms. Blaise just passed by a happy Hermione Granger and walked in on a confused but strangely smiling Draco Malfoy, who was sitting in an armchair eyeing a box with a ribbon.

'What have you got there?'- Blaise asked, walking up to Draco.

Draco carefully unwrapped the box and found perfect star shaped cookies inside of it.

'Hey, cool, food. Let me have a try.'-the Zabbini youth said and extended his dark fingers towards one of the cookies. Draco looked at his hand and flames appeared on the dark fingers that burned Blaise a bit.

Blaise immediately pulled his hand away and blew on his fingers.

'No need to use wandless magic on me now, I just wanted a taste.'

'Well, you **can't** since I haven't tasted myself. I'm still considering i_f_ I should or if they will poison me.' – he deliberated, taking a cookie in his hand and flipping it upside down to see if it looked edible.

The dark wizard smirked and wondered who Draco was fooling. He knew that the blonde enjoyed getting a homemade present incredibly, since he never did get one at home. He always had everything store bought and it was always something he asked for, he never received unexpected gifts.

Draco slowly put the cookie in his mouth and chewed on it. It was a little bit tough, but it tasted wonderful.

'Can I try now?'- Blaise inquired.

'Okay, I'll give you one if you help me with something.' Blaise smirked but nodded. He had an idea where this was going, but it would be incredibly fun to see what Draco himself had to say.

'Well, I accidentally kissed a girl who I never would have kissed and I liked it.. I can't keep my mind off of anything but _her_ since that kiss. I see her and it drives me nuts, I tend to stare at her and do strange things that I would never normally do... how can I go back to normal?' – he blurt out hoping Blaise didn't catch on who he was asking about. If Blaise knew, he'd never hear the end of it.

Blaise's face was slowly overtaken by a sly smile for he knew exactly who Malfoy was talking about. The kiss however was news to him. It did explain things a little better.

'I think... it might just be your curiosity about her. Since the kiss was accidental it might just have been your… hm… surprise? Kiss her again and your curiosity will be sated so you can go on with your life.'

Draco brushed a hand through his hair.

'No, kissing her is out of the question. I can't.. just.. _**kiss**_ _**her**_.'- although the thought slowly crept into his mind and stuck there. The thought seemed extremely appealing and he loathed it.

'Well then, wait for it to pass. You never did manage to stay focused on one girl for long.'

Draco nodded thinking it was probably the best advice. He would just carry on like nothing happened and it would go away. It was Hermione Granger, for Merlin's sake, Golden Girl and best friend of both Saint Potter and Weaselbee.

Meanwhile Blaise continued to secretly grin at his friend. He knew the idea he _accidentally_ gave him would not go to waste. Draco was going to kiss her again and oh how he hoped to be there when it happened.

(Okay guys, that's it for chapter 2. Hopefully you enjoy how it unraveled and look forward for more! I do hope to get some reviews as they brighten my day immensely ;)) oh and I just noticed that Maggie Smith who played McGonagall also played in the 'Sister Act' movie where she was the head nun. Crazy, huh? I'm also still thinking if I should just make this a romance story or if I should put in an actual plot of some bigger things. What do you think?)


	3. Chapter 3: of dances and dreams

Once again I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, so just read on and enjoy this story.

Chapter 3

Hermione Granger was **positive** Draco Malfoy had a bipolar disorder. The first six years he was a cockroach you just couldn't squish. Then this year he was different. Sure, she agreed, he changed after the war like everyone else. He probably finally got some sense kicked into him: that what he so sought- which was to be a death eater and make his father proud, was not satisfying _or_ fun. After fighting a death eater she could tell their training was never butterflies and walks in the park. They were after all trained by Voldemort himself, who tortured others for fun.

She thought he couldn't have changed. But Draco Malfoy was a different human being. The first few weeks he continued with his insults as usual, being his plain insufferable self. But then for a few days he was actually tolerable. _Kind_ even. Well, as kind as growing up with Lucius Malfoy as your father and Bellatrix Lestrange as your aunt would allow you. First he continued with his Head boy duties without much complaining or backing out and they were able to do everything they were supposed to do and quite easily. He was never late, kept his insults to a minimum, barely bordering on cheekiness rather than wanting to hurt her. She could easily admit that Ronald Weasley or even Harry Potter would have been more problematic as Head boy. The girl sighted as she imagined that Ron would probably push all the responsibility to her and go off to play Quidditch somewhere. Harry too.

Then there was that incident with the coat he had given her. That was so out of character for him to just do something nice for her that Hermione had to really overthink how she saw Malfoy. The blonde was actually a gentleman. Which she honestly could never in her life admit otherwise. She felt like she could actually be friends with him maybe. She even gave him some cookies as a present for Christmas and in return he had given her a beautiful hair accessory (she never expected that).

But then this week he went to his brilliant insufferable git persona once again. It was the week after Christmas and he seemed to be avoiding her like the plague. He made sure to shower earlier just to avoid meeting her in their common room. Every time she came in and saw him in their dorms he would close the book he was reading, glare at her and shut himself up in his room. During breakfast, lunch or dinner he either ate very fast and stormed off somewhere or he burned her with his glare the entire time.

When she tried to talk to him, he would flip her off or call her a colorful set of curse words and storm out. She was both exhausted and furious. How dare he? It was his duty as well and she had ended up doing all of those things alone. The brunette was extremely thankful for the delay on the winter ball that the headmistress announced was going to take place just after New Year because she would have seriously been overworked. Now she still some time to study for the upcoming NEWTs this year. The only problem was that infuriating self-absorbed git who acted like she was the dirt on the ground that wasn't even worth stepping on.

As she thought about it more one morning during breakfast she couldn't help but be more enraged. The more Hermione thought about it, the more annoyed she became. Who did he think he was? It was both their job to organize this Winter Ball and the last few days she was stuck with _all_ the work. She would not have been so angry if she had known he was studying or something, but she could swear she'd seen some blond hair while patrolling, snogging with random girls. And no one was that _**blond**_. So she was positive it was him she saw. Sometimes he'd be off practicing Quidditch with his team (even if he was their captain, he still was not excused from work), where she couldn't even talk to him for he'd be high up on his broom, which she still had a fear of.

Hermione stood up from her seat and stomped off to the other end of the Great Hall leaving her fellow Gryffindors astounded. She marched up right behind the blonde who had been making her life miserable yet again and put her hands on her hips.

'Hey, you insufferable asshole!' The other slytherins looked up curiously from their plates. Draco stiffened but didn't turn around.

'I'm talking to you, MALFOY! Turn around.'

Draco clenched his teeth but slowly turned around from the table to meet her eyes.

'How am I supposed to know who you're addressing.'- was his calm reply.

'Well no one else here is acting like an asshole as far as I know. You are Head boy Malfoy, and we have duties to attend to. I am sick and tired of doing everything alone. You are being beyond infuriating and I'm really sick of it!' – Hermione yelled until her cheeks burned.

His only response was to turn back around facing the table and continue eating.

'Piss off, Granger.'

The ones that heard sniggered. They enjoyed the quarrels the Head boy and Girl were having and they were rarely disappointed.

'Oh come now Granger, you're a smart girl, aren't you? You can leave _poor poor _Draco alone.'- Theodore Nott butted in. 'He's a weak little guy, can't handle the pressure of such responsibilities.'

The blonde shot him a glare, but Theo just grinned. Oh how he loved to piss off Draco.

Blaise sat there silently observing, wondering where this would lead to. Malfoy had been incredibly quick to avoid her at all costs and he knew the brunette had a temper so her blowing up in his face was a matter of days. 4 days to be exact.

'Stay out of it Nott.' Hermione whispered between clenched teeth. Then she did the unthinkable and walked up even closer to Draco, wrapped her finger on his collar and forcefully turned him around in his seat looking closely at his astonished face.

'Listen up ferret..'- she began but Draco's mind drifted elsewhere.

"Inches separating us.. Inches.. Her face so close.. Damn her.. Why the fuck didn't she get the message to just leave me alone? Why is she so close?...If I just pushed myself a few inches closer I could.. curses Malfoy, get yourself together! You're a _Malfoy_ for crying out loud. You've kissed four girls a day the last couple of days and yet you can't stay focused when **that** is in front of you.."

Hermione stopped talking and looked at the blonde she was holding by the collar forcefully, who continued to blankly stare at her face, his cheeks burning redder by the second. Then he flippantly pushed her hand off his collar and said 'Fine. I'll help you today.'

She took a few steps back while he readjusted his collar glaring at her once again. The slytherin lowered his head so she wouldn't see a very Gryffindor color on his cheeks.

"Wow, I must have really embarrassed him to his friends. He's blushing from shame."- that kind of made her satisfied. At least now he will do what he is supposed to. The scene she just caused was inevitable she figured, but at least she managed to get her point across without having to fire hexes at him, the brunette had to admit she had been tempted. She really wanted to try one Ginny had taught her; where the recipient's face starts to slowly melt off. She snickered. Ron probably had a taste of that one, since he liked to bother his sister a lot. With that Hermione went back to her table, only to be met by applause from the other Gryffindors and a high five from Harry.

The Slytherin table was hushed by Pansy, who caressed Draco's back softly. Even if she had grown out of her crush for Draco, she still did care for him a little too much. If not for the fact that Draco's cheeks were burning and the shock of Granger walking up to him and screaming right up in his face, Pansy would not have been as lucky. He hated displays of affection if it was not something he initiated.

Blaise drank his tea in silence and couldn't help but chuckle a little. Hermione Granger did not disappoint. He loved the fact that the girl wasn't a pushover.

"I think I understand now how a girl could fight in a war and come out unscathed. That one is one tough cookie."

'Poor Draco.'- he said aloud finishing his thought. This snapped Draco out of his daze and his stare immediately fixed on Blaise.

'Amused, Blaise?'- Draco said with a tone that said "One more word and I'll curse your arse off to the other end of the world" and Blaise got the message. He smiled but he stayed quiet. "Don't provoke the slumbering Dragon" was a well-known saying in Slytherin.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'When you said we had work to do _**this**_ was the last possible thing on my mind.'- the blonde crossed his arms looking at a room full of Slytherins and Gryffindors. On one side the Gryffindors sat chatting happily and enthusiastically. On the other side the Slytherins sat, eyeing the happy go lucky Gryffindors. Scowls and sneers as well as insults were erupting from both sides.

Even after the war Slytherins and Gryffindors were not best friends. Friendship among those two houses was still uncommon. That is why not many happy faces were seen when Proffessor Slughorn announced that their afternoon potions class was postponed due to 'Ball room dancing practice'. Yes, they were a lot more than just displeased.

Ronald Weasley was the only one that was quite happy with the fact that professor McGonagall was missing. He didn't fancy the idea of having to relive his 4th year disaster. Everyone in their house had been mocking him for the rest of the year. It had been bloody awful.

Harry was obviously reading this thoughts, because he said 'Even if McGonagall isn't here today that doesn't mean you can't _strike a waltz_ with professor Slughorn' and sniggered. Even Ginny covered her mouth so that her outraged brother would not see she heard that. Ron looked petrified. Slughorn was probably a worse choice.

'Well I am so pleased that I got to be in on this class today. Dancing in the ball is of great tradition and I do remember the times we put on our best robes and waltzed the night away…'- he apparently got caught up in the moment, reliving his Hogwarts times and blabbing on without much consideration for the students in the room.

Hermione was a little shy to interrupt, but upon seeing Draco's face she understood she absolutely HAD to. He was about ready to bolt out the door. 'Please Professor, could we start this class already? A lot of students are getting restless and they do want to continue with their schedule for the rest of the day.'

'Ah yes, I am sorry Miss Granger, I did get caught up in my own stories. Don't mind this old fool, my dear. So everyone pair up and can start dancing and we will put on some of the music that should be played. Please try to be gentle and not step on each other's toes. Two more things that I forgot to mention before though. First, we put both slytherins with gryffindors and hufflepuffs with ravenclaws in the other room to promote interhouse friendship so I ask you to pair up with a person from the other house and so you aren't feeling too shy to dance with someone from another house I have Head boy and Head girl here to show you that it can be okay.'

Draco raised an eyebrow and Hermione blushed furiously. She thought it was convenient how the Headmistress forgot to mention that small fact when she told her to oversee the dance practice. Ugh. She was not that great of a dancer. And why does it have to be Malfoy?

As the music started to play everyone looked up at the two heads with curious looks. Hell, if Malfoy and Granger could do it, anyone could.

The brunette sighted and looked up at the blonde. He hadn't moved an inch but continued to look up at her with his raised eyebrow and astonished expression.

'I don't mind if you step on my toes, just please lets try to actually do this one dance?'- she whispered to him and was flabbergasted when he relaxed and took her hand in his, gently leading her towards the center of the room.

'For your information, Granger, I'm a perfect dancer.' – with that he gently took one of her hands into his and put the other carefully on her waist, leading her like a perfect gentleman. Hermione Granger was being swiftly carried along the floor as if she was gliding on clouds.

Draco Malfoy really was a great dancer. Had it been any of her friends, it would have looked awkward at best. Her friends were horrible figures on any dance floor (well apart from Neville, who seemed to enjoy this particular activity).

Hermione must have been starring for Draco broke out of his stern face and actually chuckled silently.

'Impressed, Granger?'- he pulled out his trademark smirk.

She shook her head stubbornly and refused to admit that he was indeed great. She wasn't an elephant on ice when it came to dancing, but she was a little unsure. However the way they moved was perfect harmony and sync, much to Draco's wonderful leadership.

'I've seen better, but for the purpose of demonstration this will _suffice_.' Seen better my arse she thought to herself. But complimenting the Malfoy was never a good choice.

He spun her around one last time so her back hit his chest softly while holding his arm on her waist and whispered into her ear. 'Nice lie, sweetheart. Better luck next time.'

She felt the soft air that escaped from his mouth tickle her ear and tingle her all over. Hermione Granger, the Golden girl became Hermione Granger the Tomato girl. Just then whistles were heard all over the room. Everyone had been starring at them.

'What a wonderful frivolous display this was! So graceful Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy! Now everyone else, please join them on the floor to practice as well'. Slughorn was obviously pleased.

'Shit'. Draco was not so pleased. He suddenly realized he had done that in front of their bloody houses. The blush she was radiating infected Draco just as fast.

Luckily Blaise stood up and pulled Ginny Weasley's hand and guided her onto the dancefloor leaving a stunned Harry Potter behind. Theodore asked Parvati to dance who giggled furiously pleased to be asked by the handsome slytherin. Everyone else forgot the little incident worrying over how to succeed in this task. Harry asked a quiet girl called Hestia Carrow and Ron was forcefully paired up with Pansy Parkinson (When Slughorn saw that Ron was crossing his arms and refusing to go along with this he waved his wand and pulled the two teens together. 'You are stuck to each other until you finish this class' he said and he had not been kidding). Dare I say neither of the latter was happy and tried to somehow make the other trip or throw a hex in between whenever they could. Harry was openly glaring at Blaise, who seemed rather amused. Ginny didn't mind dancing with the slytherin for he was quite calm and never said a bad word towards her.

Draco had bolted just as soon as everyone else stepped onto the dance floor, leaving a flustered Hermione behind. She made sure everyone was dancing before she ran out the door to find him.

The blonde slytherin leaned against the wall behind the classroom doors sighting and put his hands on his face in desperation.

"Agh.. why can't I keep it together?"

_Because it's her._

"I could have taken someone else from Gryffindor, said that it didn't have to be her as long as it was some Gryffindor, and danced that bloody dance with."

_Of course you could have. It's not like she was the only girl in the room._

"_Oh fuck you. _I am not going to argue with myself!"

_Tough luck. You already are. Although I have to ask who do you think you're fooling?_

"I said piss off. I've been doing fine by myself so far. I've gone back to the way things were before the 'incident'."

_If you say so. Do mind my sarcasm. Running off scared like a grade schooler every time you see her is called **fine**. Really now._

".." – he could literally not argue with himself any more.

'I seriously can't continue like this. Maybe Blaise was right with his other suggestion.'- he blushed furiously and pondered the option. Maybe if he were to really um.. kiss her.. he could finally stop this nonsense. He could stop running away from her afraid that every time he came in contact with her his skin would tingle and his breath would be knocked out of him.

Then the mentioned girl stormed out through the doors looking a bit displeased.

'Malfoy?' – she walked up to him and stared right into wide grey eyes of a very distraught Draco Malfoy. He stared blankly back at her while leaning against the cold stone wall.

Hermione had come here seeking to give him a talking to about not being able to completely fulfill his duties for the day as he'd promised but then she came to _this_. The Slytherin was leaning against a wall, breathing heavily, his eyes wide and his cheeks burning up. She became worried he was sick.

Her hand came in contact with his cheek. He felt feverish. Draco flinched at the contact, but she ignored it.

'Malfoy, are you feeling alright? You look as if you have a fever… I should take you up to Madam Pomfrey, maybe she will give you a potion to make you feel better'

As she was turning around he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer facing him.

'Wait.' She complied but stared at him curiously.

He turned her around so her back was facing the wall. Then Draco slowly put both of his palms flat against the wall on both sides of her and breathed out. His blonde hair was ruffled and covering his eyes a bit but she noticed the determined look he was giving her. Just at that second she noticed how handsome this blond boy was. The Golden girl couldn't lift her gaze away from those silver eyes that were locked with hers.

'Please let me do this.' He softly whispered. 'Just once.' Draco paused for a moment to observe her. Hermione Granger was right in front of him and pulling him with an unimaginable force. He leaned in slowly towards her lips. Closer.. and closer.. just a mere inch..

Just as he almost reached her, the felt a sharp burning sensation on his left forearm and slumped down on his knees crying out in pain. He clutched his arm and looked up at her one last time before passing out.

Hermione knelt quickly near him and tried to shake him awake, but he was still clutching his arm with a strained expression and didn't answer: neither physical or verbal tries to wake him worked.

The Gryffindor burst through the classroom doors that was filled with waltzing students looking panicky.

'Someone help me, Draco has gotten hurt!' – she shouted and soon both professor Slughorn and a group of students ran out to see what had happened.

After inspecting the body of the blonde boy Slughorn said: 'Oh my. He looks as though he's in great pain. What happened Miss Granger? Was there anyone else with him when you found him like this?'

Hermione stuttered for a moment before answering.

'I think I saw someone running off when I found him like this. Maybe someone fired a spell at him and got it wrong..' she smoothly lied. Great, she thought to herself. Lying to a professor. But she couldn't have told everyone that Draco was about to kiss her when it seemed as though a higher power punished him for doing something that went against his family values _and then_ he had fainted. Why he had tried to kiss her was a thing she could not explain and she was left with a blank when she tried to explain to herself why **she** hadn't pushed **him** away. Well, neither was important now, for he seemed to be in great pain and she had no clue why.

' , please see to it that the student will get caught so we can discover what he has done to , will you?'- Filch complied seemingly pleased with a prospect of a student getting punished. 'I think his left forearm must be injured, because he keeps clutching it as if it was hurting the most. I believe we should inspect it.'

As professor Slughorn was about to wave his wand so that Draco's sleeve rolled up Blaise put his hand on his housemates forearm to stop the professor.

'Please, don't. Let's just get him to the infirmary and see what's wrong there.' Blaise pleaded while looking up at Hermione. She nodded and helped levitate Draco.

'We will take him to the infirmary, professor. Please go on with class, it can't be disturbed because of this. Draco would be very _worried _to find that he was the cause of this disruption.'

'Oh yes yes, you are quite right. Please, let's go back and continue and Miss Granger are quite capable of handling the situation. So carry on, make sure he gets treated well.'

'We will professor, thank you.'

When the two were out of everyone's sight Hermione couldn't help but ask him why he had hidden Draco's arm.

'The dark mark.' – was his calm reply. She replied with an 'oh' before he continued. 'I don't think everyone knows he has it, even if most do suspect. I'd rather not put him up to everyone finding out about it.'

Hermione thought to herself that even Slytherin had some good people inside of it that wanted to protect their friends. She had a feeling that her and Blaise would get along quite well.

When they finally were able to put Draco to bed Madam Pomfrey rushed in and inspected him.

'Did you see what happened?'- she urged.

'Um.. we were talking..'- her voice rose a bit at the word and Blaise smirked. He couldn't imagine Draco and Granger just talking. 'And then he grabbed his arm in pain, screamed and lost consciousness.'

The nurse inspected the unconscious boy in front of her and tried to check for any spells he was under. She could not locate anything she knew. Then she removed his right hand from his left forearm and unrolled his sleeve to reveal the Dark mark. It was red and swollen, looked as if it had burned the skin around it.

'Must have been painful… Although I don't understand why it has inflamed the skin. He's had it since the war, am I correct?'- Zabini nodded. 'But it was always ok?'

'Well… during the war..'- Blaise lowered his voice.-'it would occasionally hurt a little he'd tell me, but it was never like this.'

Hermione contemplated for a moment.

'Aren't they supposed to be like a regular tattoo after the one who made them died?'- the brunette wondered.

'Yes, I suppose so. But for now it seems to be inflamed and as I can't find any other cause for loss of consciousness lets believe this is the cause. Now I will try to help in any way that I can, so you can be excused to go back to your classes , Miss Granger.'

Hermione looked at the floor for a moment before shyly asking if she could stay with him. Madam Pomfrey was reluctant at first, but then she agreed to it. Blaise smiled a knowing smile and left the infirmary hoping that Draco would wake up to still find her there next to him.

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Draco was unaware of everything that was going on in the infirmary however. He was dreaming.

He dreamt he was in a dark secluded room somewhere with no doors and no windows. The air around him felt cold. Although it was dark, Draco could feel his left forearm burning. With the intensity it burned it should have been glowing. He searched for his wand inside his pocket yet he found none. Great, he thought, you're screwed. Your only advantage is to use whatever means of wandless magic you have, which obviously isn't as much as it could be.

'Welcome Draco' – a soft voice spoke. He couldn't tell if it was feminine or masculine or how old the person who spoke had been.

'You, like many, have fought bravely in the war. And you, like many, have lost someone dear to you..'- it continued with angelic softness.

'I wish to help you and retrieve the people you have lost..'- Draco turned around but couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

'What have you lost?...'- the voice inquired and disappeared. The blonde thought for a moment and the scene shifted immediately to him in the dungeons classroom talking to Snape. Draco saw his 12 year old self lifting glass jars with ingredients and looking at them curiously while his godfather carefully took them out of his hands so he'd not break them. Trying very hard not to yell at him and be considerate. Then little Draco's hands slipped and he broke a glass jar full of belladonna. He froze in place, turned around looking at the tall dark potions professor and cowardly awaited his punishment, his lip already trembling slightly in fear. Severus Snape just sighted, put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair lightly. Then he waved his wand and the glass jar was whole again in its place on the shelf. Draco lifted his eyes up and stared at the dark eyes of Snape, who just said 'be careful next time.'

17year old Draco Malfoy stood astonished as he relived that memory. He still could remember not being able to believe that the harsh dark potions professor was a very kind man, who was capable of kindness which his own father was not. After that time, he remembered, he'd always put things carefully in their place and just stay in the potions classroom remembering ingredients and reading up about them.

Then the room shifted again and it became dark. The same voice spoke again 'I see... and I will remember..' and with that he woke up from his stupor in the infirmary. It was already dark and Hermione Granger was sitting beside his bed, fallen asleep on her chair.

(**End of chapter 3. I think I finally know where this is going. So I hope you read and review and tell me what you think! Have a great weekend everyone xo)**


	4. Chapter 4: marked

Chapter 4: Marked

As far as Draco Malfoy knew, this seemed more like a dream than him being wandless in a dark room. The girl who had haunted his mind for _days_ was fast asleep on a chair next to him, her face crunched up a little with what seemed like… he searched for the appropriate term- worry? Now why would know it all bookwork Granger actually worry about him? It must be a coincidence that she was here. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.

The infirmary? Oh _great_, what happened? Had Granger hexed him for trying to kiss her? That seemed plausible. He clearly remembered having wanted to kiss her to see what that would do to him. Then it was a blank. Yes, she definitely hexed him. No other possible explanation to what he was doing here. Draco inspected himself and found nothing wrong apart from a bandaged left forearm. Okay... this was strange. That was the place that the mark was. Why was that particular place in bandages? He'd have to ask Madam Pomfrey in the morning, as for now the infirmary was covered in darkness and no one else seemed to be around.

The blonde boy sighted and looked at the sleeping girl's face. After having to hide his watching gaze for days he was finally able to freely inspect her to his wishes. His eyes drifted from her eyelashes to her tiny nose and to her pink lips. She was .. pretty he thought but brushed it off. He was still not happy with the ideas that came into his head every time he was around her. A chestnut curl was obscuring his full view of her face and he absentmindedly reached out to tuck it under her ear, gently touching her left cheek by accident. He pulled his fingers away as if he hand been stung. A little tingle made its way up to his arm like an electric current. He remained still hoping he didn't wake her. She let out a little moan but remained asleep. The Malfoy heir released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Stupid wishes to touch her… stupid stupid stupid. Thank Salazar the girl was a heavy sleeper.

He must have been more exhausted than he thought, because soon after that he fell asleep again. Draco woke up hours later in the morning to find Hermione still sitting on a chair by his bed, reading an Ancient Runes book. He couldn't help but smirk. So the first thing she did in the morning was read. _Typical_.

'Morning, bookworm.'- he couldn't suppress the smile that was creeping its way up his face. Even if she had hexed him, she did stay by his bed the whole night, so that meant she was worried about him.

Hermione jumped a little upon hearing the words. 'Jeez Malfoy, you startled me... are you… okay?'

He nodded. ' Of course I'm fine. I'm Draco Malfoy.'

'Oh and that should explain everything, huh?'- she was a bit amused at his comment.

'Naturally, I am indestructible.'

'Oh sure. So that was why you fainted in the corridors?'

'_WHAT_? What happened?'- he was taken aback for he clearly remembered no such thing.

'We talked... '- she paused and he was wondering if she would bring up the kiss that nearly happened but she dismissed it. He hated to admit it, but it bothered him. She had not reacted to the first kiss nor was she reacting to the one that almost happened. '... then you looked as if you were in pain and you fainted gripping your left forearm. Been unconscious ever since.'

'And here I was thinking you'd hexed me for being a prat.'- he grinned and she couldn't help but be mesmerized by his brilliant smile which she had seen so openly for the first time. Draco Malfoy was never a smiler. He grunted, he smirked, he crunched up his face, but never smiled. **Never**. His smile was brilliantly charming. She blushed a little. "Stop looking at him like that, it's Malfoy." She hushed herself.

'That was a possibility. You'd been avoiding me for a while now and I was tempted to do just that. This however is entirely not my doing. Blaise and I took you here and Madam Pomfrey inspected your arm- your mark (she flinched when she had to say it) seems to be inflamed. She applied some soothing mixture on it to make it heal, but she wasn't sure how long it would take, for she doesn't know what caused it to get this way. '

The blonde seemed deep in thought as his grin faded. She couldn't help herself but ask the question that had been bothering her.

'Why do you still have it, your dark mark?'

He was taken aback by her question. 'What do you mean? You think that once _he_ is dead it vanishes?'- his tone was bitter and angry. 'You think that once Voldemort has died, everything goes back to its place as if all of it was one big bad dream?' He raised his eyebrow to look at her but she was neither mocking nor judging, she was simply curious.

He realeased a breath and relaxed. 'It's not as simple as that. Some marks, like _this one_, brand you for life. Whatever life I choose to have it will forever stay etched into my skin, showing the world that I was once a death eater. And as far as everyone is concerned- once a death eater, always a death eater. So no matter what I do now, I will always be _marked_.'

'Didn't you try to spell it away? To remove it somehow?'

He clenched his teeth. 'Believe me, I tried. No potions or charms could magic it away. They do nothing to hide it either. Voldemort wanted his death eaters to be proud of this mark so he made it impossible to hide or destroy.' Draco was looking at his bandaged arm with distaste. ' But then again, Granger, I do believe I am not the only one that has been marked. Did _your_ mark go away? The one _aunty_ Bella gave you in the manor?'

Hermione looked into his eyes, sadness hitting her face as soon as he said those words.

'No. I still have it. She was very practical in making it immovable.'

'I figured as much. She did have a lot of traits that _**he**_ valued.'

She unrolled her left sleeve and put a wand to her forearm. The charm dissipated for a moment and he was clearly able to see the word 'Mudblood' written on her skin. It seemed as fresh as the day she had gotten it. He didn't know what to say. It did not comfort him to know she still had her mark etched on her skin just like he had his.

'Harry and Ron think it's already healed and I never had the heart to tell them I just charm it so it seems that way... It's better for them to think that all of the scars have healed since the war.'

He replied with an 'oh' and silence ensued. They stayed that way until it was disruptd by a noise coming out from behind the door to the hospital wing. Soon after Madam Pomfrey, Headmistress McGonagall and Sybille Trelawney rushed in along with a few ravenclaw students who were carrying a small convulsing girl. It wasn't too far away from where Draco's bed was located so they were able to see everything.

'Oh my, it seems like a nasty hex that hit her, was anyone with her when it happened?'- the headmistress asked but everyone shook their heads.

'I ..I… was the one who found her, Minerva.'- the woman behind humongous eyeglasses spoke. 'I did not see anyone, so whoever it was must have been gone before I came.'

'Oh it's alright Sybille, we'll get to the bottom of this. Now students, please allow Miss Turner some air, the poor girl needs to be treated. Back to your dorms, everyone, and start preparing for your classes.'

Just then the three women seemed to notice the remaining two students nearby, watching the process.

'How are you feeling Mr. Malfoy, feeling better?'- Madam Pomfrey asked after giving the girl a potion to swallow.

He curtly nodded.

'Well then I guess I will let you leave the hospital wing later today when we've changed the dressing of your wound. Miss Granger? You are free to go since is feeling quite alright, you have classes to attend to today, don't you?'

She was about to say something but decided against it and just nodded, closing her book, looking one last time at Malfoy.

'She said you were free to go. No need to babysit me anymore since it was Madam Pomfrey who probably insisted for you to stay with me.' – the slytherin spat out.

Hermione felt hurt. Her cheeks flushed with anger and she strode off mumbling 'Fine! Ungrateful little...ugh!'

Sybille Trelawney adjusted her glasses and slightly smiled at the retreating brunette.

'You look like you might need a reading my dear. Care to visit me for a cup of tea?'

Hermione felt anger rising even higher up her system.

'No thank you.' – she answered quietly and with one last defying look at Malfoy she stormed off.

Headmistress secretly smiled to herself. Even if her favorite student was acting temperamental, she still maintained her manners. And she did remind her of herself in her young years so much.

Minerva McGonagall used her wand to close the drapes of the bed that the convulsing ravenclaw student was lying in saying 'Nothing to see here, Mister Malfoy.'

'Drink up dear, it should be better in a few moments.'- Pomfrey encouraged the raven haired girl, but the convulsions continued, even if they were decreasing in intensity.

'That's the second student this school year and we haven't a clue what's happening. I don't know what I should do. '- the headmistress sighted, putting a hand on her forehead. She was not Albus Dumbledore and was void of his calmness when students were getting hurt.

'Don't worry dear Minerva, I will get to the bottom of this. I will look into the crystal ball and find what's been causing this predicament.' – Sybille Trelawney looked positively certain she would be able to do it. The headmistress nodded and thanked her, but was more reluctant to believe that it would work. Even though she hated to admit that to her friend, she had always been quite skeptic of the younger woman's ability to foresee things.

After some more whispering, the headmistress and the weird divination's professor emerged from the drapes of the dark haired girl's bed and left the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey opened the drapes again once the convulsions of the girl were decreasing and happened once every few minutes.

'Rest now dear Florence and be sure we will find whoever did this to you.' – Madam Pomfrey reassured with a smile.

The fifth year ravenclaw was fully conscious and quite angry now.

'But I do know who did this, I tell you it was my great grandmother!'- she shouted raising her voice to a higher pitch.

'You know great grandparents just don't get up from their graves and curse people dear. You must be confused, you poor thing. I will get you a soothing draft to ease your nerves, just wait a moment.'- with that the nurse scooted off towards her cabinet to retrieve the potion.

Draco moved his head to the side to inspect the still ever so slightly convulsing girl. Florence Turner, was it? He must have seen her once or twice around, but she wasn't someone who he had pursued. From the looks of it she seemed to have been hit by an incomplete cruciatus curse. He wasn't at all surprised that McGonagall or Pomfrey weren't able to recognize it. He doubted they ever had to practice it or see it done other than its full painful horrific form. He knew what it was all right. Even if it was weak, it was still without doubt the cruciatus. He had seen all kinds of it during new recruit trainings. Voldemort made sure each death eater perfected the unforgivables before allowing them into actual battles. No need to mention the dire consequences that awaited those who actually managed to fail.

He closed his eyes in frustration. He didn't particularly care. All he wanted was to go out of this wretched infirmary that smelled sickeningly like different healing potions.

The Malfoy boy was happy to be released two hours later after annoying the nurse to no end. Just as he was out the door he peeled off the bandages off of his forearm. He inspected the mark to see that it was a little red, although it barely hurt. He had no need for useless bandages and useless pity that came with it. He was a Malfoy damn it. If he wanted attention, he'd have it and not because he had bandages on him. Draco frowned. He remembered Granger and pushed the thought aside. How hurt she had looked before lashing out stung him a little. _Whatever_. Why care about her petty feelings. She was the one who only stayed with him because she was told to. He walked to the Great Hall with his hands in his pockets.

As he entered, not many occupants were still present. It was pretty late in the morning, thus he wasn't surprised. He meekly looked at the Gryffindor table to find the Golden trio absent. Only the failure Longbottom and a few others he didn't know were seated, quick to finish their meals and go to lessons as well.

Draco's grey eyes scanned the room. He spotted his dark best friend at the Slytherin table talking to Theo and grinned. Blaise was sipping his tea and talking Quidditch with Theo.

'What's up?'- Draco sounded nonchalant as he sat down in front of Blaise and took a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

'Well, me and Blaise were discussing if we should try a new move we've been thinking about in the match with Hufflepuff or if we should save it to completely smash the Gryffindors.'

'Since when are we trying anything against Hufflepuff? Seriously Theo, are you disturbed? When have they ever put up a fight? That cheery lot would lose even if we let out one first year player into the field…who was a _girl_."- he smirked obviously amused at the idea.

'Relax captain, I told him the same thing. By the way, are you fit enough to play the match? Did old Pomfrey not forbid you from any _strenuous activity_, did she?'

Draco smiled back at his best friend. 'Oh she might have mentioned avoiding any kind of physical activity for a month or so, but then again what _goes_ into that category? I think charms class and history of magic do. It's intense physical activity just carrying around those books with me. Quidditch, on the other hand, is just flying around on a broom. That's just barely anything.'

'Right on, captain. Glad to have you with us.' Theo stood up to leave and so did Blaise.

'Wait a moment, where are you guys going?' The blonde was surprised when his friends stood up in mid conversation and were leaving.

'Not all of us have the luxury of spending the day off from class. And I can't risk detention with the Winter Ball coming up soon.'- Blaise responded waving for Theo to leave as he'd soon join him.

'Oh… that. Didn't think it mattered to you. Unless...'- Draco narrowed his eyes. 'You have a new conquest?'

Blaise smiled knowingly to himself before responding. 'Maybe. I haven't asked her yet though.'

'I don't think any girl would say no to you, mate. Well, unless I asked her too of course.' The famous Malfoy smirk found its place on his face.

'Sure.' Zabini responded before catching up with Nott on his way to the History of Magic studies.

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Hermione had been furious at breakfast and had reprimanded Ron a lot more than she usually did. She scolded him for eating with his mouth full, she got angry when he asked for help on his charms essay and she even scrutinized his hair this morning. Harry had been on the receiving end too. Hermione scolded him for talking too much about quidditch when he should have been focusing on potions, which was now one of his worst subjects. Proffesor Slughorn still favored Harry greatly of course, even if he was slacking in potions, just because he was a celebrity. Hermione reminded Harry angrily that he wasn't going to be so lucky when working as an auror. He was going to be expected to know his potions well.

The golden duo concluded that she must be on her period, which of course earned more glares from Hermione, and avoided talking to her for the rest of the day. Seeing her amazing mood today _**all **_gryffindors__avoided sitting next to her at all costs. She concluded that she was going to be sitting alone now. Well who cares, she thought. At least she wouldn't have to be helping anyone if an unexpected quiz was thrown at them.

Then to her surprise someone casually strolled into the classroom and sat by her at the last minute. Her eyes widened and Blaise Zabini gave her a small smile.

'Hey'- he simply said and rummaged his backpack for his book. She stared openly at him as she was sure did everyone else in that class.

'Why are you sitting next to me?' she could positively hear the astonishment in her voice.

'Why not?'- was his simple reply.

'Well am I not a know it all and a mudblood?'- she provoked him and he simply shrugged.

'I couldn't care less what some people call you. Your name is Hermione Granger, that's all I know.'

Hermione was astounded by the way his voice had been so casual.

'Is this some sort of trick you're playing on me?'

'No' he smiled at her.

Then as she stared at him with disbelieving eyes, the teacher swiftly glided into the classroom, filling it with his boring slow voice.

The lesson seemed to drag on and Hermione would keep looking in Blaise's direction to see if he was up to something, but he silently sat, taking notes of what Binns was saying and never once doing anything to get her in trouble. He even answered a few questions that the ghost professor asked him, which caught Hermione even more by surprise. Then he simply said goodbye and quietly left with his fellow slytherins leaving Hermione more astounded.

By third period she wondered if the only available seat was next to her since Zabini sat by her every time. In potions they had to pair up and she unsurprisingly was with Blaise again. He had started a conversation with her that she admitted had not been in any way unpleasant.

'Why are the other gryffindors avoiding you?'- he asked her as they were sorting out ingredients and professor Slughorn had averted his attention towards Seamus and Dean, who managed to make their potion explode once again without an idea how. She flipped her brown hair and anger seemed to rise within her but he put his hands up in the air by saying. 'If you don't feel like telling me, it's fine. No need to get angry.'

She immediately felt sorry for getting agitated in front of him for he had been nothing but nice to her all day. A lot nicer than her Gryffindor friends who avoided her at all costs.

'Malfoy was being an insufferable prat again.'- she simply replied and to her surprise he chuckled.

'So, what's new? I thought that was common knowledge.'

'Aren't you supposed to be defending him? You're his best friend, aren't you?'

'That doesn't change the fact that he's a prat. Once you go around that fact, he's not so bad. Trust me.'

She grimaced and he smiled.

'Changing topics, who are you going to the Winter Ball with?'

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Even though they had had that argument in the hospital wing they managed to work together again for the upcoming winter ball the next few days. She even wondered why he was so willingly helping her, when she knew all too well that the Quidditch match Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin was this upcoming Friday. Once again he was bearable. His insults came rarely and they were his usual names for her, which she had gotten used to. 'Know it all' 'Bookworm' 'Bushy head' maybe but nothing as insulting as 'Mudblood'. Once they were finished, she breathed out and looked around the room the winter ball was to be held in.

'Isn't it breathtaking? All those lights and those snowflakes, feels like we're in a winter wonderland, no?' – a smile spread on her face, oh how she loved winter and everything that came with it.

Draco looked at Hermione while she was looking at the decorations and softly exhaled.

'Yes it is.'- he answered silently more to himself than to her. After the infirmary he had admitted to himself that he felt drawn to her and felt the stupid need to be around her. Admitting it had been so beyond him that he still wondered if he should not forget it altogether. But then again forgetting was a difficult option. Oh he had tried, he had tried to ignore her, call her names and insult her like he did before, but they were only words he didn't put meaning to.

She turned around to face him smilling a little.

'I didn't think we'd be done sooner than planed but it's all thanks to you, Malfoy.'- his eyebrow rose, she was thanking him? 'With the upcoming match against Hufflepuff I thought you'd be practicing Quidditch instead of helping me, and quite frankly I would have understood if you did.'

He snorted. '_Please_.'- he said. 'I don't need practice to beat them. We've got the strongest team in the last ten years of Hogwarts and Hufflepuff is not even worth mentioning. This year we'll take the Cup.'

'Well, you say that every year but every year Harry catches that snitch right from under your nose.' – she proudly said putting her hands on her hips.

'He won't this year.'

'How can you be so sure about it?'

'Just because I am. You just watch.'- it was more a challenge than a threat the way he said it and she smiled to him.

'We should be going now, I think we've done it all for today.' – she checked off a few things on her quill and turned to leave.

'Um… Granger?'

Hermione turned around was surprised to see Malfoy looking perplexed.

'Will you come to look at the match? Friday I mean.'

She contemplated for a minute. 'I'm not really a fan of Quidditch you know. That's more Harry's, Ron's or Ginny's thing.'

He sneered upon hearing his least favorite duo.

'But I might come if they drag me there, they usually do. That is if I finish my Transfigurations assignment.'

His sneer dissolved and the blond boy looked radiant. She wondered for a moment if it was odd seeing Malfoy happy, but decided it was because they had finally finished their work for today, so it was perfectly normal.

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'Come on, captain, why aren't you searching for the snitch? The other team's seeker has caught sight of it already and you haven't moved from your spot for a good twenty minutes!' Theodore Nott had flown next to Malfoy, who hovered in the air and was constantly looking at the stands, surveiling.

'Shut the hell up Nott and go back to beating those bludgers at those idiot Hufflepuffs. We're winning anyway, so who cares what I do?'

Theodore Nott shook his head and flew away to give Blaise an exasperated look, who mirrored the raven haired boy's concern only a little. However even he concluded that the blonde Slytherin captain was just leisurely sitting around watching the crowd. The other team might as well be idiots, but if by a lucky chance their seeker did catch the snitch, they would undoubtedly lose. Especially when their own seeker was lounging out on his broom in mid air doing **nothing**.

Grey eyes narrowed in on the crowd for the hundredth time. There were both Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, some Ravenclaws who came here to spy on the other teams as well as some Gryffindors who came to cheer on the Hufflepuffs just to spite the Slytherins. He clearly saw the boy wonder and his sidekick, along with his less annoying ginger sister, who he had admitted was not as moronic as her brother as much as he'd seen.

'Not here.'- he concluded after another ten minutes of watching the crowd. He sighted. Then he finally tuned in and was able to hear what the commentator, a random second year Hufflepuff he didn't know, was saying.

'And they're off again! The Slytherin's are playing dirty as usual (Draco rolled his eyes at this. If any other team was losing, then Slytherin was apparently using dirty tricks, as if they couldn't win just because they were good) and do not allow the friendly Hufflepuffs to score! 70:10 the count reads for those of you who forgot! But here they go again doing another attack and oh no! Blaise Zabini swoops in like the wind and takes the quaffle away from Jeremy Spriggs! He flies, he scores, yet again! 80:10 for Slytherin, what a horrendous day for Hufflepuff indeed! Don't despair guys, Summerby has already caught sight of the Snitch! In no time he will have it as there seems to be no competition from the Slytherin seeker Malfoy. Fear has got him paralyzed and he just hovers on his broom!'

In mid air Blaise stopped to look down at Draco, who he noticed grew pale and had a vein popping on his forehead, his teeth clenching in anger. He could make out Malfoy's lips saying 'Paralyzed in fear my ASS' as he dove off after Summerby to the left wing of the stadium.

Five minutes later he held the snitch in his right hand still glaring at the commentator.

'And he game is over, Malfoy seems to have gotten out of his daze and successfully caught the snitch. Too bad for brave Hufflepuffs, you've put up a good fight (everyone on the Slytherin team laughed. The count was 240:20. )! Farewell and and have a good evening, see you again soon!' the commentator roared happily from the stands. The Slytherin supporters cheered, while the other house spectators were disappointed.

Draco Malfoy dropped the snitch and strode off towards the castle.

'Good game, captain. Almost thought you wouldn't be joining us.' –Theo grinned dropping an arm over Draco's shoulder.

'Keep your filthy hands to yourself Nott.'- Draco growled and everyone else looked puzzled. Hadn't they just won the game? Why was he acting like they'd lost it? 'And I saw every one of you. Apart from some, most of you just fooled around. Expect that I will remember that for the next training session. You will learn to play as a team even if your ears bleed.' Everyone flinched and shivered. Their captain was a scary man, especially if he was pissed off. And pissed off he looked, so no one bothered him anymore until he cooled down, even though they could not pinpoint as to why he was this upset.

The blonde Slytherin seeker strutted right past the showers next to the Quidditch pitch and off he went to his common room. He had no wish to shower with the rest of his team for he wished to be alone. He hoped that he wouldn't meet bushy head in the common room as he had an idea that he'd say and do things he'd surely regret.

Hermione at the same time was in their common room, scribbling on an assignment.

'Okay, now that the written part is done, all I have to do is the practical part. Hm.… what shall I transfigure myself into? Why not… hm.. '- she whispered a spell and waved her wand and in her place a brown short haired cat stood. It jumped off the table and walked gracefully up to the mirror. It inspected itself in the mirror, watching gleaming golden eyes stare straight back knowingly.

"Not bad. Even though that was not the particular breed I was going for. Still I hope to get an outstanding just because this is a level above what was asked of us. "

She jumped a little when she heard the portrait door to the common room open. She jumped up on a chair and decided to test Malfoy if he was able to recognize her.

Malfoy looked quite angry so she decided it was best not to turn back in front of him. Had he lost the match?

Draco put his broomstick near the door and took off his shoes, walking in quietly to inspect if his Gryffindor head girl was there. She was not. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was still extremely angry at her for not showing up at the match, but being able to be alone relaxed him a little. Then as he was walking towards the shower, he noticed a brown cat sitting on a chair next to the fireplace. He walked slowly towards her, his eyes narrowing. Hermione felt afraid he'd hurt her in this form and was about to run towards her wand when he kneeled in front of her and stroked her back gently, his expression softening. Her breath hitched and her eyes must have mirrored the confusion and the fear she felt because he started to softly calm her.

'It's okay little one, I won't hurt you. '- he continued to gently stroke her fur and she had to admit it felt nice. In a weird kind of way.

'Where's your owner?' the blonde boy asked, his silver eyes seeming more calm by the minute. The cat looked back at him in a puzzled expression. 'You must be Granger's. She mentioned once about having a cat. Has she left you here all alone?' The cat slightly shifted its body but remained in its place. 'I'll go get you some milk from the cupboard. Wait here.' With that he stood up and left towards the small kitchen they shared. It was a privilege to Heads and Prefects, since they sometimes had to patrol during meal times and couldn't make it in time to eat with everyone.

Hermione the cat was frozen in place. This was utterly bizarre. Draco Malfoy had just walked in extremely angry and then seen a cat and been nice to it like it was the most natural thing in the world. And on top of that he'd been nice to a cat he thought was hers. If she had not been a cat, she would have been blushing, astounded by this notion.

He came back a couple of minutes later with a bowl in his hand that had some milk in it, but what caught her by surprise is that somewhere along the way he had stripped his Quidditch shirt and was not wearing anything on top. His chest and his perfectly formed abdominal muscles gleamed with sweat, his arms perfectly sculpted with muscles she'd only seen in an anatomy book. He was tall, lean and had a perfect seeker build that was not too much or too little. Oh how perfect he looked. His blond fringe clung slightly to his forehead, disheveled, covering his warm grey eyes. She felt heat rise in her body as she couldn't pull her eyes away. Draco Malfoy was hot. As in utterly and totally mouthwatering. She had seen Harry and Ron half naked when they were still searching for horcruxes, but Harry was very pasty and Ron was.. Ron. They were like brothers to her more than anything. But Malfoy… oh my. That was probably why he had so many girls falling for him even with his nasty attitude.

He noticed her wide eyes and mistook it as her thirst.

'Oh little one you must be so thirsty, here, drink up.' He put the bowl on the floor and Hermione had to snap out of her daze to comply or else he'd notice that she wasn't actually a cat. She gathered herself and jumped off the chair and tried to lick the milk as she imagined a cat would. It came out strained, but she succeeded. Malfoy seemed pleased.

'You know I'm glad it's you and not Granger.' He sat down on the ground next to her. 'She frustrates me. She acts all nice and then she goes off and blows you off.' "What?"- she thought in return, but continued to listen. 'First I thought she stayed with me in the hospital wing cause she wanted to, but then when Pomfrey told her to go, she was so eager to leave… She probably stayed only because Pomfrey was the one who told her to do it. Then when I thought things were going good between us again, she doesn't come to the match when I personally invited her. I mean not that I expected her to come… she still probably hates me with all her heart but... somehow I just wondered that maybe. You know? Maybe... '- he stood up, leaving the dumbfounded witch turned cat and headed for the shower.

Then he said something she completely did not expect.

'Hell knows why I like her… Don't tell her that though, okay?'- he patted her once again on the back and walked off towards the shower.

When she made sure he was gone, she lunged towards her wand that lay behind the armchair, put it in her mouth and pranced off towards her room. Once inside she waved her wand, whispered 'finite incantatem' and transformed back to a very flustered Hermione. Then she shut her door quickly and breathed in and out in quick shallow breaths, eager to calm down, but unable to.

And that was the day a transfiguration assignment had brought on two new revelations onto Hermione Granger's life. One, Draco Malfoy could be extremely kind and gentle when no one was around, even if it was towards a cat; and two – he liked _**her**_.

**(Okay that was it! Hope someone is happy I updated quite soon after the last chapter and I do hope you continue reading. I know Draco was uncharacteristic, but I do like this little trait I stuck to him. Thank you for reading and I hope you read and review! Your reviews do make my day a lot better! Bye bye until next time)**


	5. Chapter 5:The library does not hold all

Unexpected, inevitable

Chapter 5: The library does not hold all the answers, Hermione

When her breathing settled, she decided the best thing to do was to run out of their dormitory as soon as possible. Hermione was a well-known brave girl, but the fact was she lacked any kind of common knowledge what to do in a situation like this, so she just bolted. The brunette could still hear the shower, so she guessed she was safe and slipped quietly out into the dark empty hallway.

Needless to say she resorted to the one thing she knew to do when she was lost. She went to the library. She had to admit the look on Madam Pince's face was one of great astonishment when she asked if the library held any books about relationships. After receiving a great bunch of useless love novels (courtesy of Madam Pince, who suggested they were wonderful to read), she looked through all the other ones she got.

Hermione flipped through the pages angrily.

"Why are all of them so damn useless? If I wanted to find a magical term there are dozens of books for that, but if I have _**this**_ problem then they are completely and utterly...'- she fussed when a familiar voice interrupted her.

'What are you looking for, Hermione?'- Ginny asked her, coming out from behind a bookshelf. Hermione Granger jumped about twenty feet into the air when she heard that.

'No...nothing! I just randomly grabbed some books; I wasn't searching for anything, Ginny!'

Ginny smiled. 'Which section were you in to randomly select… (she came up and flipped the book's cover to inspect it) "Meeting your magical match: relationship advice for witches and wizards"?'

Hermione blushed and put her hands on the book exasperated.

'How did you find me?'

'I was sitting behind this bookshelf and I heard your cry of desperation, so I was wondering what caused the brightest witch of our time to be **so** desperate.' Ginny calmly said, watching Hermione's reaction.

'If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone? Not a _single_ soul. Not even Ron or Harry?'

'Is this about Ron? Are you having a crush on him again, Mione?'

'No no no no! This is most certainly not about Ron! But please swear to me you won't tell this to a soul and you won't mock me!' Hermione grabbed both of Ginny's hands into hers and was looking so intently that the ginger girl had to give in.

'Okay I promise I won't tell anyone. I don't have to make an unbreakable vow for that now do I?' She was a bit frightened to see that Hermione had this contemplating look in her eyes, but then she shook her head.

'No, your word is enough. But I'm going to ensure some protection so that no one overhears anything.' She took out her wand and whispered 'Protego Sonitus' and a slightly sparkling shield formed around them like a bubble, which soon became invisible to the eyes.

'What was that spell?' Ginny inquired curiously.

'Oh, I invented this alteration of Protego last year. It doesn't let any sound escape from this barrier to the outside. That way no one will hear what I am going to tell you.'

'Okay. So what's the big secret?'

'Um… well I came here because I didn't know where to turn. I wanted to look up what to do in a situation where someone says they like you… but not to you and you overhear it by accident. And so I asked Madam Pince to give me books on relationships, but the ones she brought are useless… Just look at these' – she picked up one of the romance novels and showed it to Ginny.' What am I supposed to do with 'Midnight despair in the tower of love' or 'The rising flames of passion'? I mean, _seriously_?'

Ginny couldn't help but laugh really hard at this. When Hermione gave her a look of desperation, she finally pulled herself together.

'That's what you get for asking a spinster about relationships. You should have come to me, silly. You know I've helped you with Ron and I'll help you with whoever this is now that we're talking about.'- she clasped Hermione's hands tighter and continued. 'So explain the situation to me clearly now and start from the beginning, cause I don't quite understand what you're talking about.'

'Okay so… there's this guy..'

'Do I know him? Is he cute?'

'Stop interrupting Ginny, this is hard enough as it is!'

'You fight five deatheaters at once and don't blink and _**this**_ is difficult for you?'- Hermione shot her a look and Ginny continued. 'Fine, carry on...'

'Well he is quite stubborn and a prat sometimes, but he can be really nice and kind at other times. You know the time I was freezing when you guys were practicing Quidditch? He just came out of the blue and gave me his coat, which was enhanced by magic to keep me warm. Then he gave me a gift for Christmas- an expensive Dragonfly hairpin which completely surprised me. Then he helps me out when I work and doesn't criticize me or belittle me or annoy me. And even though he keeps insulting me, I've come to see that he actually does it as a sort of habit more than anything.'

Ginny narrowed her eyes and then she suddenly realized who Hermione must be talking about. "Oh sweet Merlin" the girl thought but she inclined for Hermione to go on.

'Then we can have really nice conversations sometimes that I can't even have with Harry. But then again he goes and reverts back to being a prick.'

'And what about the liking part that you mentioned?'

'Well… that was just now... I was practicing my transfigurations assignment (Ginny rolled her eyes. Isn't that due in three weeks?) and turned myself into a cat... he was really nice to me and then he said he didn't know why he liked me and went off to shower. So Ginny, what does it mean? What should I do?'

'You're talking about Malfoy, aren't you?' Ginny's face turned into a full blown grin.

'What? No… no I'm not!'

'Please, Mione. The only person you'd call 'prat' and 'prick' is Draco Malfoy. The blonde egotistical brat who you share your dormitories with.'

'What should I do Ginny?'

'Well… you should first of all tell me how you feel about him. What's Draco Malfoy to **you**?'

'He's an insufferable prat that deems himself above everyone else and...'

'That's what you thought for six years. What do you think of him now?'

Hermione sighted and closed her eyes for a moment before reliving every memory she had had with him recently.

'He is unpredictable and his moods change like the weather. But… he can be really interesting to talk to and his smile is dazzling.'

'Draco Malfoy _**smiles**_?'

'Very rarely, but it's worth a sight.'- Hermione couldn't hide the small smile that caught up with her.

'Hm… did you guys kiss?'

Hermione's face caught red and she waved her hands in the air nervously.

'No no, not really. Wait, maybe I guess we kind of did… But I don't think that matters. We were caught under the enchanted Mistletoe…'

'Was it good?'- Ginny snickered when Hermione turned a shade redder if that was possible and began to babble. 'Okay okay if you don't want to discuss it now it is fine. You know, now that you've mentioned it... I have noticed Malfoy acting strange this year. He's been watching you every opportunity he got. I thought it was strange, because his stare was never really menacing or angry… Wait, that also explains _why_ he was looking at the stands towards Harry, me and Ron today. He was probably expecting you to be there!'

Hermione lowered her head. 'I may have kind of told him I was coming and forgot about it.'

'Ah, so he's probably hurt then. You should apologize for that. If he doesn't turn back to the nasty prick we all know and hate then maybe he really does have feelings for you. Don't tell him he actually told you that because I don't think he's ready to tell you. Just be patient with him. If it's meant to be, he will get around to it eventually. Hopefully he isn't as slow as Ron was, who waited _six years_ to realize he liked you. Even if it didn't work out in the end.' She hugged Hermione and the brunette hugged her back.

Then Ginny stood up to leave.

'You're not going to judge me for this, are you?'

'If he can leave his prejudices aside and admit that he actually likes you, then I can leave mine as well. Aside from his snarky character, I have to say he's quite tolerable.'

'Thank you Ginny.'

'And next time, come straight to me; don't go asking that old spinster for books.' – The ginger girl winked and walked towards the exit.

Hazel eyes wandered before focusing on a random spot. "Apologize to him. Hm…"

When she finally thought things through and headed out the library door (dodging an excited Madam Pince who was asking her if she liked her recommendations), she met Harry just outside the library.

'Hey! I've been looking everywhere for you Mione! Sheesh, we even went to your dorms, but caught a very pissed off Malfoy. He was no help at all, wel,l not that I really expected him to, but he could have at least told us if you were there or not! A simple yes or no! How can you live with that sorry ass excuse of a person?'- Harry Potter rambled on and before Hermione could mutter a word, he took her by the hand and was leading her away from the library. 'Thank Godrick I found you here. McGonagall has asked the three of us to meet her in her office urgently, so let's go.'

'Wait Harry, I have to do something first...'- she trailed off, but the boy shook his head.

'Sorry Mione, whatever it is, it can wait. She told me to find you two urgently and I didn't like the sound of her voice. Something is wrong.' – Then he took out his wand and said 'Lumos' and they proceeded down the corridor.

A lot of the portraits complained and hid their eyes behind their hands, angry to have been disturbed at such an hour. It was just 10 in the evening, but walking along corridors was already prohibited thus the paintings had been sleeping.

'Harry, where's Ron?'

'Oh he is waiting for me near the headmaster's office. I told him to wait for me until I checked the library for you. I was desperate enough to go on without you. I sure as **hell** was not going to risk going back to Malfoy to ask if you were there again. The last time he fired a hex at me that I barely escaped. It burned a hole in the wall behind me! I don't think I would have survived another visit.'- Harry looked a little pale.

Hermione smiled slightly. Malfoy was probably getting even more pissed. Oh well, she'd handle him when she got back. She hoped he wouldn't shut down and become unsociable again. Merlin knew she hated him being that way.

They reached the statue of the gargoyle on the 7th floor quite soon and there stood Ron, still yawning, eyes droopy with sleep.

'Ron… what were you doing before you came here?'- Hermione put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Ron Weasley was startled out of his sleep. 'Why Mione?'

'Well it's that I can read a few arithmancy tasks on your right cheek.'- Harry laughed as well.

Ron grew immediately pale and began to rub his right cheek profusely.

'I believe I can answer that. He fell asleep on the arithmancy book, at least that was what he was doing when I found him.'

'You know Ronald that does not classify as studying.'

'Oh shut it Hermione. It's boring enough as it is, I can hardly get through one page without falling asleep.'

Hermione shook her head in disbelief and pointed a wand towards his right cheek. 'Scourgify'

'Now let's go and see the headmistress.'

'Ferocious feline.'- Harry said and the Gargoyle statue moved upwards until it releaved a set of stairs.

Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk awaiting them eagerly. She was extremely relieved when she heard them coming. As they entered, she motioned for them to sit down and each took a seat in front of her desk. Ron was the one who still carried a secret fear of this particular woman so he swallowed hard when she stood up, looking intently at each one of them before silently exhaling.

'I'm sorry to call you three at an hour like this, but I am indeed becoming desperate.'

'What happened, professor?' Harry was the first one to ask, but noticed Hermione seemed interested as well.

'Students have been getting hurt Mr. Potter. I have no idea why or by whom.'

'Oh, like Florence Turner?'- Hermione inquired and Harry shot her a look that asked her how she knew, but she dismissed it.

'Yes, like Miss Turner. But she was only the second person who got injured. Four more students were injured after her. All from different houses, different family backgrounds. I and a couple of teachers have tried making sense of these attacks, but they seem sporadic.'

'Have you tried asking the students who attacked them?'- Hermione looked at the professor but she just nodded.

'We did, but they couldn't tell us. All of their memories seem to be altered, because _every one_ of them claims to be attacked by a person that is not on this earth any more.'

The golden trio started to whisper to each other looking around in disbelief.

'At first we thought it was a coincidence, that maybe one of the werewolves had gotten into the castle or someone was playing tricks on the students, but after the sixth person I do believe there is a cause. That's why I'm asking you three for help. In recent years whenever there was trouble you three were always on top of it and were able to see things that grown-ups could not; you also found a solution each time. Thus I put my whole trust in you three: Mister Potter, Mister Weasley and Miss Granger. I want you to talk to the victims, see if you can figure something out. Also be aware of anyone acting suspicious and report them to me. Bemy eyes and ears, I believe the culprit is still probably at Hogwarts as we speak.'

The three of them nodded, stood up and headed out the door. Only Harry decided to stay behind, he had this habit of going to Dumbledore's portrait and talking to him. It was not close to the real thing, but it helped. Hermione remembered how Harry had once told her that he wished there had been a portrait of his parents. Then he could talk to them sometimes, even if it was just a portrait, it would make him feel like he had a connection with them.

Ron sleepwalked (even if he was barely awake, sleep dominated the most part) back to the Gryffindor common room and Hermione headed in the opposite direction. She recalled what Florence Turner looked like when she was brought into the infirmary and she remembered convulsions and some moaning like she was in pain. It did not look like a curse or a hex she knew, so she decided she'd have to look it up in the library. Even if the perspective of someone trying to hurt others was not one she enjoyed, however she missed searching for things in the library. It always made her feel important to be able to find vital information.

Hermione's mind was briefly reminded by Draco Malfoy's soft features as he talked to her in cat form. She then remembered she was walking back to a possibly very enraged Malfoy and she had yet to mend things with him. Somehow she thought about turning around and walking towards the Gryffindor common room instead.

'No, I will not run away from talking to him. He's going to accept my apology even if I have to beat him up with it!' – the gryffindor hunched her shoulders back, relaxed and strutted towards her portrait door with confidence. Something next to her cut the air and she felt something graze her left shoulder. The girl winced in pain, grabbing it, unable to comprehend where the attack came from or who.

She violently turned around to be hit by another attack but this one barely hit her right cheek. Hermione's reflexes finally kicked in and she hid quickly behind a statue. She could hear something similar to footsteps, softly approaching the place she was hiding. She steadied her breathing and waited for her attacker to come close enough for her to tackle him. The person however stopped walking, turned around and started to walk away. Then Hermione slowly peeked from behind the statue and was surprised to see a woman with unruly black hair and a dark dress. As Hermione tried to analyze who the person was, she turned around and lunged an attack at her. Hermione was so shocked to see the face of her attacker, that she completely forgot any self deffence. She just stood there, her eyes wide with horror.

Someone ran towards her from the sidelines and blocked the upcoming attack. 'Stupefy!' a blond boy yelled towards the attacker, but the attacker was already running off into the distance, the spell leaving the person untouched.

'What's the _matter_ with you, Granger? Had I not blocked that it would have hit you straight on!'

She snapped out of her daze to look at a very worried and slightly enraged Draco Malfoy. 'Malfoy? What are you doing here?'

'I was… patrolling.'- he meekly lied. She nodded her head, her eyes never leaving the route her attacker ran off to, then without a second thought she dashed off in that direction.

The slytherin boy was left completely astounded. 'Granger…what the hell… wait!'

He easily caught up with her when she stopped. When he reached her, she was leaning next to someone. The girl had multiple wounds on her body and was convulsing slightly.

'It's Katie Bell. She was probably hurt by the same person who attacked me. Malfoy, get help while I go and find the attacker.' – with that she stood up and started off sprinting into the darkness. She could faintly hear a laugh in the distance and she knew it was the one to follow.

Draco Malfoy was positively pissed off. Was the girl _**demented**_? She had been attacked and had he possibly not saved her would have ended up in the infirmary if not worse and she was running _after_ the bloody person? Oh that stupid Gryffindor recklessness. Gryffindors apparently had no self-reservation built in. He whispered a spell, waved his wand and ran off leaving the body of Katie Bell with a little light that blinked above her.

When he caught up with Hermione, she was already on the grounds and near the entrance to the forbidden forest. When he saw that she was practically running into it, he increased his speed and caught her in his arms, hinging her movement.

'Let me go, Malfoy, I have to catch her, I have to..!' – she was fussing and trying to break free, her voice sounding pleading.

'Hush now Granger, hush. You can't run into forbidden forest at night, there are many things in there and most of them are **not friendly**. You will get yourself killed and I can't allow that...'- his tone was soothing and calming and she stopped struggling a little, but he held his grip on her.

'But I saw the attacker... I have to make sure...'

'Who did you see?'- he turned her around in his arms so he could look into her eyes in the dark. He froze when she slowly said 'Bellatrix Lestrange' and loosened his grip on her, his arms limply falling to his sides.

'It can't… be… she's dead.'- Draco's face was twisted in horror and surprise and he understood her state of frenzy.

'I know. That's why I was following her to see if it was really her.'- Hermione answered finally calming down a little. 'Wait, why did you follow me? I told you to stay with Katie - she needs to be brought to the infirmary immediately!'

'With you dashing off into clear death like a mad woman? Fuck me, I think not. Besides, I left a message for the prefects who were supposed to be patrolling that corridor, so she's probably in the hospital wing right now.'

'I was not dashing off into clear death!' Hermione raised her voice enraged. 'I would have done fine to protect myself you know!'

'Fine, whatever. Just don't do it again… especially alone.' His voice was like cold steel. 'Now tell me where you were hurt.'

'I'm fine Malfoy, I don't need your h...'

'Why do I have to repeat myself, you blasted bushy head girl? Where the fuck were you hurt?' She showed her left shoulder, which was slightly bleeding through her robes. Draco inspected it for a few moments, touching it ever so slightly, moving it in a few directions, before breathing a sigh of relief. 'It appears to only be superficial, no broken bones or anything worse.' He pointed his wand towards her left shoulder 'Vulnera cementum' and the bleeding stopped, the air rippling ever so slightly because of magic.

'Thank you' – she whispered, feeling kind of shy and awkward. Then she felt his inspecting eyes on her face, stopping on her right cheek. He took her hand with the wand that was glowing and pointed it close towards her face. Hermione lifted her hand and touched her cheek absentmindedly, still looking into his eyes. When had those eyes turned into warm inviting grey, rather than that cold stare that haunted her the last six years?

'You forgot that one.'- he simply stated, but she just shook her head. 'It's fine.'

He simply ignored her and put his hand on her right cheek, near her wound, pointing his wand and healing the cut. Warmth spread into her face where he touched her.

'Is everything healed now?' – he asked in a husky voice and she couldn't help but notice how some of his bangs were covering his eyes a little, obscuring his view. She reached out with her free hand and touched his soft white blond hair, removing it from his eyes gently.

Draco sucked in a breath and watched her with clouded eyes. In a second he filled the distance between them, crashing into her lips with a bruising kiss. His tongue invaded her mouth and made her completely melt. Hermione was slightly caught by surprise, but she never fought him, never backed down, she fully responded with just as much fervor. She covered her hands in his fine blond hair and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer.

Merlin, she tasted divine. He could feel a faint taste of raspberries and mint and it only made the voice in his head that screamed for him to stop grow more silent.

He dragged his teeth against her bottom lip and she let a moan escape her, tickling his lips in the process. He groaned in return. Where had she learned to kiss like that? She was torturing him. He felt like he couldn't get enough of her, like he needed more. Draco kissed back with even more need, pressing her small body closer to his own.

She pulled back slightly out of air. 'Malfoy, we have to st...'

'No, don't stop..' he mumbled against her lips, already pulling her back again. He wasn't going to let anything ruin this perfect moment. She forgot the world again for a few moments, before regaining more strength and pushing him away, still caught in his arms.

Then he heard it. The voice of his _beloved_ duo, shouting in the distance, calling her name. _Fuck_, what **perfect** timing. He looked into her swollen lips once again, before releasing her from his grip.

A few moments later he was pulled up by his collar by none other than his _favorite_ person in the world. Ron Weasley. Hermione could see the moment his soft expression turned back into his usual sneer.

'What did you do to Hermione?' Ron angrily spat, never looking away from Malfoy's eyes.

'You should ask that yourself you stupid weasel. You were the ones that left her completely alone.'

'Let him go Ron, he didn't do anything.'

Ron looked over to Hermione, whose robes still had some blood on them from her previous injury.

'He hurt you Mione, I can see that! He probably was the one who hurt Katy Bell too!.'

'Yes, that's exactly why _I_ left that message near her body for someone to find it. _Because I hurt her_. ' – he rolled his eyes and removed Ron's hand from his robes. 'At least do us a fucking honor and think at least once before you say anything.'

'Well, what happened Mione? We found Katy's body and a message from Malfoy that said we should go in this direction.'- Harry asked looking displeased to see Draco here as well, but he kept himself in check a little better than Ron.

'The person that attacked Katy attacked me as well, except I as better off. Malfoy protected me...'- she looked at his silvery grey eyes and was met by an intent gaze back, then she quickly reverted back to looking at Harry. 'Then we ran after the attacker, but she ran into the forbidden forest, we couldn't follow her there.'

Ron was still eyeing Malfoy, who crossed his arms in annoyance. Why the hell did they have to come and ruin everything as usual? He felt that he hated Weasley and Potter even more that day.

'Well we should go to the castle and report this to McGonagall. Come on, Mione, we'll get you checked at the infirmary for any injuries as well.' She nodded and the three of them went off towards the castle, with Draco following a little behind them. Hermione turned around once and captured his gaze, opening her mouth to say something, but then closing it again without ever voicing anything.

She saw his mouth moving to say 'later' and then turned her attention back towards her friends.

Draco knew his mood was ruined for good, when he saw Ron Weasley put an arm around her waist.

**(Well that's for chapter five. Hope you enjoyed it my dear readers! I have gotten some lovely comments and I want to thank every one of you for writing them! You are such great people, thank you for finding time to read and review, please don't be disappointed. I hope you enjoyed that I finally allowed them to share a moment together. Yay, that was spontaneous, I have to admit. I thought about dragging it until let's say the end of the fanfic? but let's make it happen this once, kay? Big bad things are in store for them later on, so let them enjoy life while I still allow it, lol. Bye bye, until next time!)**


	6. Chapter 6: Interesting

Chapter 6: Interesting

He kissed her. Now what? It wasn't like he could actually date her. He twirled his wand around between his fingers in deep thought. She hated him. Clearly. If her display at the great hall didn't prove it, then she irrevocably showed it when she didn't show up at the match. She wasn't interested the least bit.

She did kiss back, his conscience reminded him. He smiled and then his smile faded once again. **Of course** she kissed him back, he was Draco Malfoy. He was an incredible kisser, if not the best there was. No, that wasn't his ego talking. Any girl that had been reluctant towards him he had shut up with his kiss and they'd all fallen for him like that. So maybe her kissing him back had been a physical reaction. It didn't clear away the hatred she felt for him. But could he blame her? No.

He had offended her every chance he got, he'd treated her like she was dirt. A year ago he would have thought her beneath him and yet the war had changed everything. He came back this year still hating her just because of who she was, not what she was. Her blood didn't really matter. Voldemort, who screamed pureblood supremacy beyond anything, was a half-blood himself. He was defeated by a _half-blood_. The war killed mudbloods, half-bloods and purebloods just the same. They all bled the same blood- **red**.

Draco hated Hermione Granger just because she always knew everything better than everyone else. Because she was the best friend of Harry Potter and because she had been annoyingly Gryffindor. Yet the last few weeks he couldn't take his eyes off her. Everything he had deemed annoying about her suddenly interested him. She was _interesting_.

The blonde boy sat lazily on his armchair looking at the fire, still playing with his wand. He was deliberating what he should do. He hadn't seen her on Saturday, nor had he seen her today and it was already evening. It was clear she was avoiding him. So unlike her. Not Gryffindor at all.

His mind drifted back to their kiss. It had been the best kiss he had had, erasing all the other kisses. When he closed his eyes, he could feel her, smell her. The longer she remained absent from his sight, the more he felt irritated. Had she been any other girl, he would have dug her up from the ground. Yet the fact remained, he was still Draco Malfoy and she was still Hermione Granger. He felt he had to do something, but he didn't know what he should do.

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Hermione Granger straightened her robes once more looking at the mirror.

'Don't worry Hermione, no one would attack you during broad daylight and we'll stick with you whenever we are able to.'

She meekly nodded to Ginny, who was putting her things inside her bag and getting ready to go down to breakfast. It had been extremely cowardly of her. Okay, so maybe she had told her friends she was afraid someone would attack her if she were to walk alone in the halls again, and so her friends kindly offered to stay with her whenever possible and even offered to let her stay in Ginny's room for as long as she didn't feel safe. Hermione was feeling extremely guilty. She wasn't afraid she'd be attacked again, most surely she would dive right after the person if she ever had a chance and wouldn't be caught so surprised this time either.

No, she was extremely and utterly terrified of looking Draco Malfoy in his eyes after they had snogged near the dark forest. What had possessed her to kiss him back she had no clue. It felt so right at the moment_. Damn_ her hormones. He was Draco Malfoy for bloody sakes! He was a foulsome git. He was so utterly and terribly… the best kiss she had in her life. But she was damned to hell if she was going to let this mean anything. It was a spur of the moment thing (her subconscious was laughing at her because Ron had said the same thing about their kiss during the war) and if she ignored it, she could say it never happened. It was hard to do when she was living with the person it happened with. And remembering what he was like. Gentle but firm hands, cold soothing breath, distinguished facial features that made him absolutely handsome. And the way he kissed...

"No. Just _no_. I'll ignore him and go back to the way everything was and we will forget all about it." _You coward._ "I'm not a coward; I just want to be reasonable. There is someone cursing students and I should preoccupy myself with finding out who or why they're doing this." She felt content after thinking it. It was her top priority, headmistress McGonagall asked them herself after all. It wasn't a homework assignment, it was a mission. She felt giddy and determined. Malfoy popped into her head smiling. She dismissed it and imagined going to the library for research instead.

The two girls met with Ron and Harry in the common room before heading out to the Great Hall.

Hermione turned her head to the side inspecting a rather chipper Ron Weasley.

'You can't get up on time if your life depended on it and yet here you are today, actually on time. Are you ill?'

Harry chuckled but motioned for Ron to speak.

'It's this special pudding they serve during breakfast. I don't know if they changed chefs, but the last week it's been there for breakfast and it's absolutely amazing! I wake up every day just to taste it again, you should too Hermione!'

She shook her head in disappointment.

'You woke up early for _pudding_? And here I thought you were actually eager to go to your classes for once. Maybe you had prepared for your ancient runes test today.'

'We have a test on ancient runes today? Bloody hell! Why didn't you tell me this earlier, maybe I would have studied for it!' – he flushed red and panic overtook his face.

'It's not like you would have actually done anything different.' – Ginny giggled. 'Besides, Hermione has been telling you that for over a week already.'

Hermione couldn't help but sigh. Although she had missed being with her friends more she couldn't deny she missed the calm of her own dorm. Malfoy, even if he didn't spend too much time with books, always prepared for his tests. Him again? Why did her thoughts always drift towards her blonde roommate? The brunette violently shook her head trying to get the image of him out of her mind.

Ginny and Ron were arguing about something playfully and Harry dragged Hermione a little behind them.

'So Hermione, have you remembered anything about the attacker you saw?' She looked her best friend in the eyes and shook her head. She couldn't tell him what she wasn't sure of herself. He would have asked her to stay at the Hospital wing for at least a week had she told him it was Bellatrix Lestrange.

'I've tried to search a little in the library though to see what that spell is that causes painful convulsions. I've tried searching in the restricted area as well.'

'And?'- Harry whispered, carefully looking around so no one would hear them.

'It's some kind of curse; I just can't find which one. I'll keep searching Harry, there must be one like it. It's been the sixth attack already, all having the same symptoms.'

'Hm...'- the boy was deep in thought, touching his scar gently as he processed it. 'Well we have to keep searching, maybe it will give us a clue who might be behind it.' – she nodded and they proceeded through the doors of the Great Hall. A lot of people were seated at the table, eating breakfast and talking.

Hermione turned her gaze towards the slytherin table and counted every slytherin present. No blonde hair she could spot. "I'm safe. He's probably eaten already" and with a sigh she sat down at her table. She took out her charms book and began to read, nibbling on a piece of toast with jam.

'Blimey Hermione, can't you drop a book even during breakfast? It's here to enjoy, not _**bore**_ you to death.'- her firey haired friend whined, already stuffing his face with his favorite vanilla pudding.

'Excuse me, Ron, but I happen to like reading. It's refreshing to start an early morning with some light reading.'

'But it's one of the school books, Mione. Light reading would be something that's not on the curriculum and amounts to less than 400 pages per book.' – Harry said.

She simply hmphed and continued with her reading.

'Say Ron, who are you taking to the Winter Ball?' Harry casually asked, looking at his breakfast rather unfondly. Ron was right, chefs had changed and he didn't particularly enjoy his omelet.

'Well, I was thinking that maybe we could ask someone together, like at the Yule Ball? It's so much easier than asking one girl. I think I might pass out if I have to ask one alone. They're scary things! They might start crying or run away!'

'Oh be a man, big brother. I think you might end up a spinster if it comes down to it, like our aunt Nilly with her 50 cats. It's not rocket science, you know. Just go up to someone and say 'would you like to go to the dance with me?'' –Ginny softly said, catching Harry's eyes when she thought no one was looking. They did that a lot, Hermione noticed, she quite envied their special bond. It seemed they had gotten closer this year, even if they did avoid public displays of affection, they'd steal loving glances at each other, take each other's hands and take walks in the castle together.

"Who are you taking, Harry?'

Hermione couldn't believe her ears.

'Well your sister, _obviously_. You know they've been dating for two years now, have you forgotten?' – Hermione exclaimed putting her book down on the table. Ron infuriated her sometimes for asking such stupid questions. Harry looked up at Ginny and smiled, both of them blushing slightly. She raised her book to continue reading, where had she last finished? Oh yes, page 2034.

Ron Weasley's face fell. 'Oh great, now I have to go look for someone to invite…bloody hell...'

A silky voice next to Hermione spoke, making her jump in her seat.

'Oh don't be too sad Weasley. I'm sure you'll find someone fitting for you.' – Draco Malfoy was nonchalantly standing behind Hermione with his hands in his pockets. She turned her head to look up into his grey eyes, but immediately he caught her in the act. 'Don't worry, I'll help you. Let's see..' he started to look around and his eyes lit up with mock happiness. 'Oh look, Millicent has gotten her acne curse activated again. Doesn't look too lovely sprouting new acne every few minutes, but hey – she's still going to make a wonderful pair for you, Weaselbe.' He sniggered and walked simply off, leaving an enraged Weasley, who wanted to retaliate, speaking profanities under his breath and Harry, who was trying his best to hold him down. No one noticed how he brushed his fingertips along the back of her neck gently, leaving a trail of goose bumps on the Golden girl's skin.

Hermione lifted her eyes to stare angrily at Malfoy, but caught him watching her reaction and then he smirked and winked at her, before walking off towards his own table, Blaise following him closely behind, giving Hermione a small wave with his hand. She barely noticed Blaise. Had Malfoy just _winked _at her? Did anyone else see how he touched her neck? She looked around at her table, but Ginny was barely holding her anger like Ron, and Harry was still trying to manage two very angry Weasleys.

'Don't you worry Malfoy, Ron will find a lovely girl to bring. You just worry which of your sluts to take. I'm sure you have _plenty_ to choose from.' – Harry yelled and Hermione raised an eyebrow. Harry Potter had just said _**that**_. Ginny's sharp tongue was rubbing off on him. Malfoy just shrugged and continued on to his table.

Ron was balling his fists, still puffing smoke through his nostrils in Malfoy's direction.

'So, how about asking Katie? She's out of the Hospital wing already.'- Harry tried desperately to change the subject.

'She's going with Dean. I heard her talking to her friend.'- Ginny told them and Ron lowered his head again, pursing his lips, deep in thought.

'Maybe Luna? She's a bit strange, but she's okay...'

'She's not strange, Ron. She's a lovely girl. And she is already going with Neville. He asked her a week ago. Gave her some strange flowers I've never seen before. She was extremely happy though, I thought it was sweet. '- the girl behind the book said never once raising her head, flipping yet another page angrily, refusing to look at the slytherin table. She had looked at him when he sat down and noticed he sat in a straight line from her so he could watch her, that infuriating smirk still present on his lips. She blushed and refused to lift her gaze up at him again.

'What about Parvati?'

'Going with Seamus. His invitation almost blew half our room down, but she accepted anyway.'

The redhead named about a good dozen names only to be informed that they already all were invited by someone. He should not have thought of asking at the last minute.

'There's still a bloody week left, why is everyone in such a hurry?'- Harry offered him a serene smile and patted him on his back.

'Why don't you ask Hermione? I don't think anyone's asked her yet. Have they?' Ginny looked over to Hermione, who finally put her book down to look at Ginny.

'It's not like she's really a girl…' Hermione stared wide eyed at him and smacked him hard with her book. 'Hey, don't be offended, you know what I mean! You're like a sister to me. But I'll ask you if no one else goes with me, okay?' He offered her his goofy grin and she couldn't believe him. She took her book, her bag and stood up abruptly from her table.

'I'm not going to go with you as your last choice! Ugh… you annoying redheaded idiot! Someone already asked me days ago!'

Ginny hexed Ron's hair to start burning and he waved his arms all around the place trying to extinguish it. Harry gave Ginny a look that said "Come on, control yourself" and she waved her wand to remove the hex.

Hermione lifted her gaze and accidentally caught Malfoy's facial expression, which read confusion and anger. Why was he angry now? She dismissed it and was already turning around to head out of the great Hall when the voice of the Headmistress stopped her.

'My dear children, I am so sorry to interrupt your meal. Professor Babbling has gotten ill today and is being treated by Madam Pomfrey as we speak so I am sad to inform you that your ancient runes classes for today will have to be cancelled.' A lot of clapping or happy whistling could be heard in the Hall. 'Do not fret though, Professor Trelawney has kindly offered to hold her classes instead of Ancient Runes so that you aren't too concerned with a hole opening up in your curriculum. So today instead of ancient runes, many of you will have divination. I am well aware that many of the seventh years don't have them, but please do not worry, we will try to add a few questions from divinations to the NEWTS, so you don't feel like you are wasting your time.'

'Does she think she's being funny? I don't think any student would oppose to having some free time instead of going to a class that we don't even regularly have and extra questions on NEWTS from it, _seriously_.' Ginny sighted.

'Bloody bonkers that headmistress.' Her brother agreed, but was secretly happy about the test being postponed.

'This day just couldn't get any worse. Why divinations of all the subjects, why? Why not potions, not history of magic or something actually useful?'- the Head girl was absolutely furious and stormed out of the Great Hall, making her robe flutter dramatically as she walked.

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Draco couldn't help but smile during the whole Divinations lecture. It had been the most boring subject they had ever had, apart from Care of magical creatures maybe. Pansy was being insufferably enthusiastic in it. She took them instead of History of Magic and it probably was her favorite subject too. It was the only class she probably paid any attention to more than her nails. When he agreed to sit besides her, he had made one BIG mistake. She was fussing and fawning over his cup of tea, trying to decipher what bloody tea leaves told her about his destiny. As in tea leaves could actually tell you _something_. He snorted at the idea. Then she had the audacity to call up that creepy Trelawney and volunteer to talk about his cup. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked anywhere else he could while Trelawney and Pansy babbled on something about love and destiny and danger and whatever. He could see Blaise from the corner of his eyes, laughing his ass off.

His only distraction was seeing how miserable Granger was. Apparently she hated this lecture more than he did, if that was possible. Her facial expression was sour at best. It was adorable how she hated being here, as opposed to almost all the other girls who were following Trelawney's every word like she was a prophet. He uncrossed his arms and put his head on one of his palms, deciding to devote this lecture to studying her.

'This is ridiculous. I'm not going to see anything from those damn tea leaves. It's just tea leaves for Merlin's sake, they don't show anything.' –Hermione huffed looking at Ginny's cup.

Ginny was looking at the same cup, because moments ago, before Hermione could actually drink her tea, Seamus accidentally pushed her cup on the floor, spilling all of its contents. Trelawney had muttered something about a bad omen for Hermione, but she smiled a forced smile and said nothing in return.

'Look, you can see a flower if you look carefully.' – Ginny tried, taking her cup from Hermione's hands and flipping it to different sides.

'I'm sorry Gin, I see **tea leaves**. Oh and look at it this way, it looks like tea leaves again!'- she exclaimed a little too loudly and heard a chuckle too rows behind her.

Both girls turned around to see a small smile on none other than Draco Malfoy. He quickly turned his head into an opposite direction and sneered.

Ginny looked at Hermione, who sprouted a tiny blush on her cheeks, but turned her head back stubbornly to stare at the cup.

The redhead took out a small piece of parchment and wrote something, then pushed it towards Hermione, so that only she could see it.

**Okay, so that's not how I remember Malfoy. Clearly the thing you told me in the library is true. Have you done anything about it?**

Hermione pondered for a minute, before shaking her head.

_**I haven't even talked to him since that happened. Not really anyway.**_

**You stubborn girl! From what I can see, you are quite fond of him as well. Oh no, don't try to deny it you sly little witch. I see the way you were stealing glances at him during breakfast. Stop being so stubborn. At least... talk to him?**

_**I have more important things to do than that. Besides, it's nothing.**_

**You always do that. Push other things to the front and leave your personal life behind. Maybe it's time to change that?**

Hermione looked at the piece of parchment for quite some time. She never gave Ginny an answer, but her friend felt like she had made some progress with the Golden Girl.

Hermione packed her bag and wanted to head out to her next lesson- potions, still thinking over what Ginny had said. However, professor Trelawney stopped her.

'I feel so bad for you, my dear. That cup breaking with your future. Maybe you'd like to stay for another cup of tea? I could talk to the spirits for you, as you my dear do not have a gift for that, and find a way to escape that bad omen?' She smiled her creepy smile and eyed the girl through her thick lenses, her disheveled hair sprouting in all directions, rivaling that of Hermione in year 1.

Hermione visibly flinched. "It's a just a cup, for Godrick's sake. It's not like anyone died from it."

'No thank you, professor. I will survive.'

'Are you sure dear, the spirits can get furious at you for ignoring them.'

'I'm sure. Goodbye, professor.' And she left the quacky devotions professor behind, who continued looking at her descending form from the doorway, inspecting a crystal ball silently.

Hermione's mood improved when she entered the potions classroom in the dungeons. The brunette smiled when her newly found potions partner was already seated preparing for the lesson.

'Hi, Blaise.' She slightly smiled at her dark friend. He nodded his head back at her, flipping through his book already. She spotted Malfoy sitting alone at his desk, his partner still not having arrived. 'What are you searching for?'

'Oh I'm flipping through the pages to look over at some potions, I heard a rumor Slughorn was going to give a random potion to make today without looking at the potions' book and the team that managed to get close enough to the actual potion would get additional points for their NEWTS.'

'That's brilliant! Who wouldn't want additional points for NEWTS! Where did you hear that?'

He showed his brilliant white teeth as he smiled. 'That's a secret.'

She let it go, it wasn't the first time he let his slytherin ways seep through. She didn't mind though, he never _actually_ cheated.

Professor Slughorn joined them absolutely beaming.

'Today my dear students is a special day! I will be able to test how well you have learned the potions we have prepared over the years. On this plate I have magical drops with the name of a potion you know. You will touch a drop of your choice and it will reveal the name of a potion. In pairs, you will have to prepare the potion without your book. (Many of the students whined) The ones who succeed in this difficult task shall be awarded 50 extra points for their NEWTS!'- the older man looked positively overjoyed. He wondered who would excel at this task; he looked over at Harry fondly, thinking he might win this challenge like he had won the one for a Felix Fellicis in his fifth year.

'Oh I just remembered. Theodore Nott has been feeling a little ill, so Madam Pomfrey is letting him rest for the day. So I guess Mister Malfoy will have to join an existing pair. So who will accept him into their team?'

Malfoy looked positively dreadful as he eyed the team of Pansy and Millicent on his left, hoping it wasn't left up to old Sluggie to seal his fate. Then he looked over farther away to see the Golden Duo glare daggers at him, which he only returned. Then there was the wonderful duo of Finnegan and Thomas, who blew up everything they touched. _Lovely._ What about the duo of Parvati and Katie? He knew at least one of them to be in his fan club. So they'd probably try to steal his clothes in the process. Splendid. Every choice was awful.

'I see an eager pair to have you join them. Wonderful. Mr. Malfoy, please join pair number two over there.'

Draco was positively releaved to be seated next to Granger and Blaise.

'Hi.'- Hermione suddenly felt shy in front of him as he pulled up a chair next to her. It was the closest they'd been after Friday.

He caught her chocolate brown eyes in his stormy grey ones that seemed to want to tell her so much more, but mumbled a husky 'hello'. Blaise saw them staring so openly at each other and knew it would be dangerous if anyone else caught on. So he decided to interrupt them.

'I hope you're not too disappointed we took you. Parvati had been jumping from her seat, so eager to take you.'- he chuckled when the blonde paled.

'She's part of _those _girls I'd rather not get close to. I fear for my life after all.' Hermione giggled at his absolute discomfort. He raised an eyebrow at her. She tried to hide her giggle behind a cough.

'Okay, so everyone choose your droplet from the plate and you can get started.' Harry was the first one to come up, he touched one of the drops on the plate and it evaporated, leaving some blue steam to rise. 'Ah excellent, Mr. Potter, the Alihotsy draught. Just remember to follow your dosages correctly; it is absolutely essential for this one.' Hermione eyed Ron, who looked like he had never heard of the potion before. They had learnt it two weeks ago. Typical. It was quite an easy potion, so they'd probably manage to make it.

Everyone chose their potions and Hermione was the last one to come up to Slughorn. As she touched it, the drop evaporated, leaving small pink bubbles to pop in the air. She had a dreadful feeling inside her gut.

'Ah, wonderful, the Amortensia potion. We have tried making it only once, but I do feel that if anyone is able to make it well it is you three. Now, go on, gather your ingredients and start preparing it. '

Everyone gathered their ingredients for the potion and began to make them, actually keen for once to succeed. Halfway through the potion Blaise excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Hermione looked over at Draco, who was looking through ingredients, trying to see if anything was missing. She came closer to him and silently whispered. 'I'm sorry.'

He looked up at her puzzled, wondering what she was apologizing for. Was she sorry she kissed him? His face fell into a sneer.

'For what?' he slightly growled, daring her to say the next words.

'For not coming to the match. I got consumed in my homework and I'm sorry.'

He was taken aback by this. This he had not expected. Somehow he felt happy and uncomfortable at the same time.

'It's okay. Come to the next one.' His insides warmed up by when she smiled at him.

'I will.'

'Why were you not at our dorm at the weekend?' – he tried to crush the moonstone powder into even smaller bits, not looking up at her eyes, afraid he'd show too much emotion.

'Um… I was researching something. Wondering what that was that Katie Bell had. It didn't seem like anything I know of.'

'That's simple.'

'Oh, you know what that is? Could you tell me?'- her eyes were directed at him, absolutely curious. He, on the other hand, was feeling a little devious. He decided he could trade information for something else. A cunning smile presented itself on his features.

'I'll give you that little bit of information… if...'

'If… what?'

'if...'- his stormy grey eyes turned warmer and fixated themselves on her lips. '…you kiss me.'

'What?' – she burt out, positively blushing and he couldn't stop laughing.

'Alright already, it was a joke. Return back to our dorm tonight and I will tell you.' Her blush receded and she pondered before nodding.

'It's a cruciatus.' - was his simple reply. He put an ingredient into the cauldron and stirred gently, leaving her eyes for a moment.

'It can't be, I know what it looks like and it's not strong enough to be a cruciatus.'

'_Exactly_. Ever tried a spell that didn't quite work for you? You know it can be similar to the original spell, but much less potent, thus it could easily be mistaken as another spell.'

It hit her when he said it. It did look an awful lot like a cruciatus. Her eyes narrowed deep in thought. She'd have to research other spells that could have resulted in those other injuries that the victims received.

'What have you two been up to?' Blaise's voice caught them by surprise and they jumped a little. They turned around from each other, Malfoy staring at a couple of belladonna leaves and Hermione inspecting the potion a little too intently. Blaise chuckled. The two looked like second graders having a crush on each other. He wished they'd progress further than that. Maybe he could give them a hand. A wicked smile spread on his lips.

Blaise walked up to Hermione and started to rummage in his bag for something, bumping the brunette with his elbow in the process. She fell on top of Draco, who was caught completely by surprise and caught her a little too late, making them both end up on the floor with a painful thud.

'Whoops, I'm sorry.' – Zabini said, but Draco didn't miss his grin. Malfoy wrapped his arms around her for a minute, looking at her wide eyes, forgetting to breathe. One, two, in - out. He practically had to remind himself to breathe or he'd choke. She was so close to him his skin burned where they touched. Potter and Weasley ran up from their table and pulled Hermione off of him. _Much too soon_. He groaned.

'Are you alright Mione? You didn't get a bruise or anything, did you?' Harry asked, looking up worried, while glancing down at Malfoy, who readjusted himself and stood up, dusting off his white shirt in the process.

'It was Zabini that tripped you probably, wanting you to hurt something in the process.' Ron seethed pure hatred through his eyes at the dark wizard and the blonde. Blaise looked ready to murder the Weasley, but surprisingly Draco put a hand on his chest, stopping him.

'It was my fault, I tripped and took her down with me.' Hermione and her two best friends looked at Malfoy with disbelief. 'You act as if I had openly cursed her. Go back to your potion, Potter.'

Harry asked Hermione if she was alright once again and when she nodded, he proceeded back to their table, dragging Ron with him.

They proceeded without much talking afterwards. Draco was sulking for showing too much emotion around her and Hermione was embarrassed to be reminded of his strong chest again. When she fell, she brushed her fingers along his chest and memories of him walking around bare chested floated again. It didn't help concentrate on the potion. Blaise simply worked in quiet, contemplating his next move.

A half an hour later everyone was done with their potions and Slughorn inspected each one. Harry and Ron managed to make a half decent Alihotsy draught, but it did not manage to induce hysterics, though it did make Ron and Harry giggle like schoolgirls. It was close enough. It had been a very easy potion to make though. Seamus and Dean were covered in ash as their potion exploded for the tenth time. Slughorn had asked them to test it for him from a far. He had known the pair to cause any potion they made to explode. When Blaise, Hermione and Draco were presenting their potion, the potion's master looked delighted.

'Well well, this looks like a good amortensia. Yes yes, looks fairly alright. Now, would one of you like to try to smell it, to see if it has the wanted effect?'

Blaise not so subtly pushed Draco forward and Draco shot him a glare. Zabini simply shrugged and crossed his arms over.

'Now Mr. Malfoy, don't be shy. We're not asking you to drink the potion, simply smell it. What do you smell, my dear boy?'

The blonde brushed a hand through his hair nervously as he stepped closer to the cauldron. The pink smoke swiveled in the air and he took a whiff. He closed his eyes in contentment.

'Raspberry...mint...and…old books...'he turned his head away embarrassed. Blaise grinned.

'Excellent. It seems the potion is quite good. Well, then I can do nothing else but award each one of you extra 50 points on your NEWTS. Oh and 20 points to both Slytherin and Gryffindor for working together successfully on an assignment. It's so nice to see different houses settling their differences and prevailing on a difficult task. Well done, indeed!' Everyone reluctantly joined in on their clapping.

Draco hurried out of the classroom, followed behind by Blaise. He refused to talk for some time after that, brooding. That day they found that Theo had been found cursed in the hall.

A couple of days passed and it was already Friday evening, the last day before the dance. Ginny had flaunted her blue dress, Ron had managed to ask out a fifth year Hufflepuff he found cute and she had returned to living with Malfoy. Ten more students had been cursed with the unforgivable and some other curses. Each varying in intensity. The only lead they had was that Malfoy told them it had been a weak cruciatus. So any ex death eaters were out of the question, because they all knew the curse perfectly and could inflict a lot more damage.

However today was the day she wasn't going to think about someone trying to hurt the other students. It was the day she'd receive her gown and she felt absolutely giddy. So without any surprise, when she spotted her owl carrying a rather large package, she was positively overjoyed. The owl flew past her and dropped the parcel. The brunette smiled broadly y and picked it up.

'Is this your dress, Hermione?'

'Yes, it finally arrived.'

'Oh let me see, I've been dying to see it!' Both Ginny and Parvati gathered around her, waiting for her to open up her package. When she did, the three of them stopped their happy giggling and watched the box. Even Harry had become worried.

'What's wrong, is it the wrong dress?' – he asked while getting a nudge from Ron to but out of girl's business.

'No…it's...' – Hermione was at a loss for words. She wasn't going to cry about a dress, but somehow she felt like she wanted to.

'It's completely and utterly turned to shreds.' Ginny whispered, putting her hand in the box and taking out different shreds of red fabric. Hermione took her wand out and muttered a spell, but it didn't work.

The chocolate eyed girl slumped on her seat. The mending charm didn't work. It would have, if there had been a tear, but the dress had been completely and utterly torn to small fabric pieces, where one could not tell where the skirt began or the bodice ended.

Grey eyes had been watching her. He had seen the whole thing. The parcel, the astonishment and the sadness in her eyes. The blonde also saw a very gloating Pansy. His eyes drifted from her face to her right hand that had been hidden under the table. Then he saw her take out her hand casually as if nothing had happened. She was cunning, but not cunning enough for him. The blonde knew he was getting too careless, showing his attention to Granger so openly. Pansy was one of his never dying admirers and didn't like sharing her attention with anyone. Even if she knew that he never saw her like _that_ anymore. This had been his mistake. He clenched his teeth.

Draco put his left palm on Pansy's cheek, stroking it gently. The pug faced girl breathed in and looked at Draco in surprise. She mistook it as a loving gesture, but then she caught his cold steely grey eyes that read "danger".

'My dear Pansy, if you **ever** do anything like that ever again I will not tolerate it. There will be consequences. Is that alright_, love_?' his voice sickly sweet but dripping with malice.

The girl nodded her head slowly and he took his hand off her, returning to his meal.

Hermione knew she was being silly but she was devastated. One night she had wanted to look radiant and her perfect dress was made to paper mache. If someone had done it on purpose it had been really cruel. The problem was she had no idea who it could have been. After dinner she pretended like everything was okay and then hurried up to her room, shut herself in and cried her eyes out. She did not go to breakfast Saturday either, refusing to leave her room. Her friends had tried to visit her, but Malfoy refused to let them in, saying she wasn't feeling well.

Draco scrunched up his face, walking circles around her door. Then he reluctantly banged on it. She ignored it, refusing to acknowledge it. He banged harder. She stirred in her room, but he wasn't any closer to getting inside. His eyebrow twitched. Fine, if you want it that way, let it be that way.

'Bombarda.' He waved his wand and her door exploded to smithereens. He caught sight of her sitting on the bed, red eyed and disheveled. He felt a painful pang in his chest, but he entered her room, trying not to convey how he felt upon seeing her upset.

'What the hell Malfoy! The door was locked for a reason!'

'Oh whatever. I did knock you know.' He was smirking and it only infuriated her further.

'It's not an excuse to destroy my door! You insolent little prat!' _Better. _Now she was angry, he could deal a lot better with angry.

'Stop sulking about your damn door and listen for a minute, Granger. Here, someone left this for you near the entrance to our dormitory.' He presented her a blue box with a white ribbon.

She looked at the box, then back at him like a shy little deer. He laughed. Then she edged closer to the box and looked at the card. It said "It's probably not as pretty as the one you had picked out, but please come to the Ball. Your friend."

She unwrapped the package and found a silky green gown with black lace. It was absolutely gorgeous, a lot more so than the red one. As she was inspected it, he turned around and walked off, a small smile tugging at the left corner of his lips. He waved his wand when he left and her door was back in its place. Just like that.

**(Okay guys I really struggled with this chapter. Like really.. I am nowhere closer to where I should be at this point, but all these little things had to happen. The story has to unravel little by little, not in one swift motion. I just hope you guys still continue reading, the next chapter should be a lot more interesting. Please read and review my dear dear readers!)**


	7. Chapter 7: The Ball

Chapter 7: The Ball

'Wait till you see her Harry, she looks gorgeous!' Ginny stated proudly to the black haired teen that was busy fumbling with his robes.

'I know she will look good, I remember how she surprised everyone at the Yule Ball.' Harry's robes seemed to be wrong, they were making him uncomfortable, but then he guessed it might just be because they were official. He preferred his school clothing or his muggle attire to **this**. It seemed as if it was made to make you stiff as a board. Ginny, on the other hand, looked like she was completely at ease, her pale blue dress flowing effortlessly onto the floor, her hair tied neatly into a ginger bun. His only hope was that Ron was more uncomfortable than he was.

'And I'm saying she's gonna look even better than that! I mean I saw her dress! No idea where she got it, but it's a-ma-zing.'

'Sure, sure. Hey, there's Ron. Hey Ron!' Ginny sighted, Harry was not the least bit interested in all the work she put into helping Hermione style herself. But then again, he was a boy. Girls talking about makeup never did click his fancy and thank goodness for that.

'Oy, Harry, sis. Is it just me or are these dress robes really tight around your neck? It's like they're trying to suffocate you before even the Ball is over.'- Ron waved his arms dramatically into the air, earning an eye roll from his sister and a grin from Harry.

'I feel the same, thank God at least someone understands my suffering. Everyone else acts as if they're wearing pajamas.' The boy wonder then noticed the small shy girl standing next to Ron, clinging to the redhead's arm protectively. 'Hello, I don't think we've actually met? I'm Harry Potter and who are you?'

Ron nudged his best friend to the side. 'Of course she knows who you are, mate. This is Jenna Jones.' The younger girl blushed and nodded her head.

Ginny scrunched her face up. 'You didn't even manage to buy the poor girl a corsage? What a way to treat a lady.'

'And this is my annoying little sister. ' Ginny pulled out her wand and pointed it at his face.

'And now is a good time to practice my Bat-bogey hex, don't you think brother dearest?' Ron tried to pull away, looking at Harry with pleading eyes, his date being utterly confused.

'Now now Ginny, calm down, no wands at the Ball you promised.' She muttered a fine and put the wand back into her purse. 'By the way are we waiting for Hermione?'

The redhead girl shook her head. 'No, she said she might take a bit longer, we'll meet up with her in the Ballroom.' So they all headed out towards the beautifully decorated room. Snowflakes fell from the sky turning into nothing, white decorations where everywhere along with white trees with floating lights.

Harry noticed Draco and Theodore along with their dates: Pansy and another slytherin girl he didn't know the name of. Draco looked quite miserable and didn't even mutter anything at Ron or Harry, who he had both seen.

The blonde looked at his watch once again. It was 7:30 and Granger was nowhere to be seen. He had been nervous to see if she wore the dress he gave her, or if she had realized it was his doing and burned it out of sheer hatred. Or worse, given it to the Hogwarts elves as a gesture of kindness. Ugh… he groaned. Liking someone who hates you is so troublesome. If he could just get this over with and forget it, his life would be so much easier. Yet every time he closed his eyes, he could remember the taste of raspberries and mint and how soft her skin was, or how her eyes reminded him of rich Belgian chocolate he tasted when he was in Brussels. He groaned and looked at the clock again. He was fidgeting like a school girl and even Pansy, not being the brightest girl out there, would notice and start questioning him about it. Why did he bring Pansy again? Oh yes, because she was the least troublesome choice. Even if she was his never dying admirer, she had a crush on Theo, that he clearly knew, thus inviting her meant some peace. She'd try and annoy Theo every chance she got. Perfect choice.

'Where is that bastard Zabini? He said he had someone special as his date and now he's fucking making us wait like idiots.'

Pansy giggled and grabbed the blonde's arm, which he casually freed from her grip, showing her with his eyes that she should not be touching him so carelessly. By the way, where was Blaise? He still hadn't forgotten the embarrassment of smelling that dreadful Amortensia, making a fool of himself in front of everyone. He also hated the fact that Blaise had gotten so close to Granger recently, sitting with her in many of their joint classes, chatting her up casually in the corridor. He made it seem so _easy_.

'Right on cue, there you are! I thought our group would have to do without the Italian stud. Hey Blaise, where's your date?' Theo asked as he eyed Blaise in the entrance. The italian stood there alone, looking at his right behind the doorway.

'Oh she's just a little shy. Come on now, I said it's going to be okay, you look beautiful.' He extended a hand to his right and a thin female one showed itself, Blaise taking it into his gently. He grinned and the girl followed him into the room.

Draco could have sworn his heart stopped right then. Holding Blaise's right hand was none other than _the_ Hermione Granger, bookworm, bushyhead, head girl roommate of his. And oh how much those words didn't suit her. Even Blaise had been wrong in calling her beautiful. No, she was _**stunning**_. She wore the green dress with parts of black, her hair was put up with only a loose curl in front and in her hair the dragonfly hairpin glistened happily. She blushed and shyly walked up to them, not meeting his eyes. For once in his life he was glad she didn't, because his eyes probably popped out of his head as his jaw hit the floor. As Hermione slowly approached them his heart began to beat again. Thump. Thump. Thump. Slowly but surely he could feel his heartbeat returning.

'That fucking bastard.' – he mumbled to himself.

'Did you say anything, Draco?' Pansy inquired, but then she brushed it off and diverted her attention to Blaise, who was talking something while approaching them.

Yes, Blaise made it seem so _easy_. Talking to her, sitting next to her and now **this**? He managed to get her to come to the Ball with him when Draco himself couldn't even get her to come to the match. She said **no** to him, but she said **yes** to his best friend. If looks could kill, Blaise would have been dead by now.

'Wow Blaise, I didn't know you were into Gryffindors. Bold move. Not worried boy wonder and his sidekick are going to kill you for it?' Theo joked and Hermione loosened up a little. She had expected a little more hostility from the slytherin group even though Blaise had reassured her it would be alright. Theo was surprisingly pleasant, Pansy was… well Pansy. She tried to make small talk with her about girly things and the pug faced girl didn't call her names or anything like that. And Draco was standing there with his arms crossed glaring daggers at Blaise, what she didn't really understand. She waved a small hello to Ginny, who beamed at her with thumbs up and Harry and Ron just looked at her with disbelieving looks. She gave them an exasperated one to match that said to leave this be.

'See Hermione, these folks here are just idiots, but they're okay once you get to know them.' He received a punch to his arm from Pansy, who quickly readjusted herself. 'So ladylike, Pans.'

'That's what you get for calling us idiots. Come now Daphne, let's go talk to our friends who really appreciate us.' Blaise mimicked his heart being broken while maintaining his grin. Theodore Nott went to talk to his quidditch team mates and the three of them were left alone.

Hermione looked at Draco, who was averting his eyes from her, even though she could swear she felt him staring when she was talking to Blaise. An uncomfortable silence ensued.

'I think I'll go talk to my friends for a while, I'll be right back.' And with that she hurried off into the other part of the room, jumping into Harry's embrace.

'So... now that we're alone, let's get down to business.' Blaise's grin turned devious and Draco raised his eyebrow to look at his now former best friend.

'What do you mean?'

Blaise turned around making sure no one was listening and whispered to Draco.

'You like Granger.'

'The hell I don't!'

'Sure sure. I've been watching you, you know. And you have been quite careless. She might not see it, but everyone around you will start to if you don't get a grip on yourself.'

Draco dropped his arms and rage built up inside him.

'...why would I like a filthy mudblood girl like her?'

'Drop the act. I'm on your side. I'm always on your side.' The Italian smoothed over his hair and put his left palm on the blonde's shoulder. 'The sooner you admit it to yourself, the better.'

'You're imagining things Blaise, it's absurd.' Draco narrowed his eyes into slits, crossing his arms over once again, stealing a peek at the chestnut haired girl.

'Oh is it now? How about I show you some proof-' Blaise pointed one finger at the head girl wearing her green dress. 'See all that? Now I know neither she, nor her best friends the gryffindorks would choose a slytherin looking dress for her.'

'It's a coincidence, nothing more. Cut the bullshit Blaise, I'm getting tired.'

'Okay so it might as well be. How about that dragonfly pin in her hair?' Draco flinched and his eyes widened. 'You think I don't remember where you got that from? How is it per se in her hair?' The blonde boy visibly flinched and swallowed hard. Busted. His sly best friend smiled. 'Don't worry, I'll help you with this.'

Draco casually took Blaise's hand off his shoulder and smirked.

'What makes you think I need your help?' Blaise's smile fell and he looked up at Draco in surprise. 'You forget who you're talking to.' The blonde's smirk grew even wider as he headed into the direction where Hermione was talking to her friends. Then the Zabini boy saw the Headmistress come up on stage.

'Welcome everyone to this wonderful Winter Ball. Today is a special day where we celebrate peace and unity, thus everyone who came in pairs with someone from another house gets extra 20 points to their House. Also, even if this is a dance, do not forget your manners and be civilized and poised. I do not want the same problems arising again as they did at the Yule Ball.' McGonagall's voice became stern for a second only to be dissipated again into a cheerful tone. 'This beautiful hall is decorated thanks to the hard work of our Head boy and Head girl and the prefects. So for the first dance I'd like to ask Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger to join us, along with the prefects. Everyone can join in after them. Have a wonderful evening my children!' and with that she hopped off the stage to join the teachers at the tables, who were drinking wine quite happily.

'Clever. Even if it hadn't been me who brought her, he'd still have had her for that dance.' Blaise chuckled as he headed off to find Pansy.

Hermione saw as the crowd around her thinned and through the center of it all the blonde with deliciously tossled hair, black robes and a white shirt walked in, his grey eyes gleaming like silver. She inhaled sharply as he came closer. Oh no, calm down. It's just Malfoy.

He walked up and gently asked, stretching his left hand at her. 'Could I have this dance?'

Before she could answer Ron and Harry both intervened. 'No, you can't dance with her. Bugger off, Malfoy! She's not your friend and neither is she your date!' Ron puffed up his chest to block the blonde, who didn't move an inch from his spot, observing the girl.

'Oh be nice Ron, the headmistress herself said that the heads and the prefects had to dance together for the first dance.' Hermione gladly accepted Draco's hand. They walked off towards the dance floor, Draco turning around at the Golden duo to show them his trademark smirk. Once Draco knew that Blaise was not interested in Hermione himself, but took her to the dance to taunt him, he felt a lot more confident. He had to admit Blaise was very smooth with the girls and could rival him if he wanted to.

Draco put his hand on her waist and she put hers on his shoulder. Malfoy could feel Hermione's fingers tremble slightly at the contact.

'Remember, just like we practiced. I will look so good, no one will even notice you goofing up.' He smiled his devilish smile and she felt heat rise up in her cheeks, but immediately straightened herself and her tremble was gone.

'Is that a challenge, Malfoy? Think I can't dance gracefully? We'll see about that!'

And so they danced. She matched him step by step, turn by turn. They were the most graceful couple on the floor. Soon the next song played and she saw Ginny drag Harry onto the dance floor, him stumbling on his feet clumsily. Ron brooded next to the refreshment table, his date having gone with someone more willing to dance. Blaise had asked Pansy and they both danced quite gracefully as well. Pansy kept stealing looks at Theodore Nott, who was making his date – Daphne Greengrass giggle and blush.

The peace was suddenly disrupted as Mr. Filch sprinted into the ball room, limping slightly from a curse one of the students had attacked him today with. He was huffing and shouting something, which could only be heard as he entered the middle of the room.

'Headmistress! A student is destroying the castle! A student is destroying the castle! Come quick, the 7th floor! Headmistress!'

Professor McGonagall stood up and put a hand on the man's shoulders.

'Calm down Mr. Filch, no need for the commotion. Lead me there.'

Hermione and Harry looked at each other and nodded. They were going to follow the two to see what happened. They looked at Ron to see if he wanted to come too, but he was looking quite moody, sitting by the punch bowl, so they decided to leave him behind. Some of the students ran after the headmistress as well, simply curious to what was going on. Draco felt the brunette pulling away from him and scowled. Sure, she was going to investigate this. Nosy little Gryffindor.

'Come on, let's go.' – Hermione said and took his hand to drag him along with her. Okay, so this was _new_. Not that he wanted to go wherever they were going, but he didn't mind the warmth of her hand in his. They ran behind McGonagall and some others and he noticed Potter and the Weasley girl were also with them.

'Harry, are you thinking what I'm thinking? We're going straight to the...' Hermione began and Harry nodded.

'The room of requirement.' They both whispered and soon after they stopped at a small crowd of people and a hole in the wall. Mr. Filch was standing proudly near a girl with black hair and a purple dress. He knew her as Daphne's younger sister. She was crumpled on the floor, her forehead bleeding slightly, her whole body covered in debris and dust. Filch tugged on her arm, forcing her to stand up, but McGonagall stopped him.

'Oh for Goodness sake Mr. Filch, leave the girl alone. Can't you see she's injured? Miss Greengrass, what happened?' The headmistress bent down on one knee to look at the girl.

'I... I don't know professor. I was at the dance one moment, then I was thinking I need to go to the room of requirement. Then I don't know… I know I needed something desperately, so I thought I'd explode the wall and get into the room, but I can't seem to remember what I needed. 'The girl was crying now, desperately clutching her dress.

'My dear... if you had wanted to go to the room of requirement, the doors would have materialized themselves for you. No need to go about destroying the castle.'

'I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did it I...' her sobs echoed in the hallway and an uncomfortable silence ensued in the bustling crowd. Within the crowd someone pushed themselves up front. Hermione snorted, it was her least favorite professor Trelawney.

'My dear Minerva, I sense there was a presence that captured her soul. A dark presence. When she came to me for a reading this morning I sensed something would happen and there we have it! Oh dear, oh my… she needs a purification ritual immediately so the evil spirit leaves her once and for all.'

Hermione snorted and crossed her arms, mumbling something.

The headmistress nodded her head reluctantly. 'That is all fine Sybill, but please bring her to Poppy in the hospital wing to be checked before that, alright?'

'Oh yes, of course. Come on Astoria dear, can you move? We'll try to go there slowly.'

'Okay everyone, back to the dance. No harm done. Mr. Filch, please clean up the dust here, will you? I will see to it that the wall gets fixed later on tonight.' Along with the headmistress everyone returned back to the dance. Hermione walked slowly, talking to Potter and Weaselette, thus Draco didn't feel the need to stick around for that. After all, he didn't really come here willingly. He headed back to the dance.

'What do you think happened, Hermione?' Harry asked her best friend when they turned a slightly different direction, taking the longer route towards the ballroom.

'I think Astoria wanted something from the room of requirement. What I don't understand is what she could have wanted. I mean most of the things have been destroyed by the fire in there. There are just some remnants from the war and not much more.' The brunette was right, there really was nothing to take from that room anymore.

'What puzzles me is why she needed to blow up that wall. The room of requirement always opens its doors to anyone who is in real need of something.' Ginny said, looking at the two sternly.

'Maybe she wanted something that the room was reluctant in giving her?' the Golden girl suggested.

'We'll have to ask professor McGonagall if they found anything with Astoria that could have been the reason for her attempted break in. Until then, we should head back to the dance. Ron is probably really bored right now. He wasn't looking too good when we left him.'

They found Ron Weasley looking rather chipper, still sitting on a bench near the refreshment table.

'Hi guys!' he grinned at them, looking a little dazed. 'How are you doing? Having fun?'

'Ronald, are you feeling alright?' Hermione eyed the ginger skeptically. He had been miserable before when they left and now he was positively happy and a little unstable looking.

'Never better! The world is great, you know!' Harry, Hermione and Ginny all looked at each other dumbfounded.

'Are you drunk, Ron?' Harry couldn't contain his amazement. There was no alcohol here allowed, so the thought was preposterous, but Ron did look fairly loopy at the moment. The same way he had looked when he drank some firewhiskey when they were celebrating one of their Quidditch victories a few years ago.

'What? No, Harry! You know you're my best friend right? You are like my family, I could never in a million years hurt you… you know right, you know?' Ron stood up swaying a little and enveloped a very confused Harry Potter into a bear hug.

'Okay Ron, whatever you say. Just tell me please if you ate some food, or drank anything?' The boy with the scar on his forehead was having trouble getting out from the grip of his best friend, finding it difficult to breathe.

'Nothin much. Just some of that delicious pink punch over there. The other one had some strange things swimming inside of it, so I tried the pink one instead.' He finally released Harry, who breathed out his first breath of fresh air in what had seemed like forever.

Hermione and Ginny went over to inspect the pink punch bowl. Hermione smelled it and scrunched up her nose. Sickeningly sweet.

'Just as I thought. Some Euphoria elixir and probably something unorthodox known as a 'Lively Lisa'.' Hermione stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

'What? So they tried it again this year? Unbelievable!' Ginny groaned looking up at Hermione, who simply sighted.

'What do you mean Ginny?'

'Well Harry, it is a known fact among many girls that the pink punch is always the punch that girls choose and guys don't drink, thus every damn dance the slytherins try to spike the punch to get girls to go out with them. 'Ginny began and Hermione finished – 'Or do things with less clothing on and that are _more intimate_. They use the euphoria elixir to make girls really happy and use the 'lively lisa' potion to get the girl drunk so she does pretty much whatever they want.'

'And Ron drank from the pink punch bowl, so that means?...'

'Yes Harry. That means we should get him out of here before he starts acting the way that could lead to his expulsion for drinking at school.' Hermione looked around to see if anyone had noticed. No, they were safe. No one paid them any attention, everyone was either busy dancing or flirting to notice this.

'Come on now Ron, let's go back to the Gryffindor common room now, the dance is over.' Harry tried to pull him up, but Ron refused to move.

'No. I'm not going anywhere. Not until I dance with Hermione. Come on Hermione, let's go dance! You've been hanging out with that ferret far too much!' The redhead stood up and pulled Hermione by her hand but she stayed put.

'Okay Ron, let's go dance. But not here, let me take you somewhere. 'He looked confused but happy and willingly went with her. As she passed Harry she whispered 'I'll take him to his room and come back soon after.' And with that the two of them left the dance hall.

Draco was feeling restless. Once he had returned to the ballroom his left forearm started burning. It was similar to what had occurred weeks ago, but a little weaker. It still did hurt like hell. He grabbed his forearm and rubbed it. Draco felt like ripping his sleeve open to see what was causing this, but couldn't in front of so many people. Not everyone needed to be reminded he was once a death eater, nor did he want those few who still didn't know to see the proof. After summoning some ice with his wand and putting it on his forearm he didn't feel any better. Then he was hit by the voice he had once heard in a dream. It whispered things he couldn't quite understand, but he could make out a few words quite clearly "…tonight. Remember I will want something in return. My gift comes at a price." And with that it turned into gibberish and then dissipated into nothing. The burning on his forearm eased up as well. He was left both astonished and worried. What did this all mean?

Hermione had managed to get Ron halfway to the Gryffindor common room before he'd pushed her up against a wall in a corridor and started to kiss her. Or he had tried to. She wasn't really giving in. He was feeling drunk and happy and she guessed the 'lively lisa' had other benefits as well. The brunette groaned. The creators of this probably added the kink of sexual desire to it as well. Oh great. And she had chosen to take Ron to his room alone. Was she really the brightest witch of their age?

'Oh Hermione, you look very pretty today, let me kiss you… and touch you… I know we're not like that anymore, but today let's make an exception…' he once again tried to kiss her, but she moved to the side, him only managing to graze her upper lip in the process.

'Please stop this Ron, let's just get you to your room.' Her voice was pleading but the potion was stronger than her pleading.

'No I want you Mione…' he emphasized, rubbing himself against her to prove his point. He had proven it alright, but it only distressed her more. He was far taller and far more muscular than her and she had dropped her purse with her wand when he had surprisingly pushed her against the wall. Lightning flashed in the nearby window, thunder roared seconds after and then a voice disrupted the silence of the corridor.

'What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing Weasley?' Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, his eyes burning with rage and she had never been gladder to hear that voice.

'Sod off Malfoy.'- Ron replied, putting his hands on her dress again, trying to rip it apart.

'He's just a bit drunk, I can deal with him.' She struggled trying to push the redhead away, but he was much too eager and much too strong. She cursed under her breath.

Her makeup was messed up, her lipstick was running from her upper lip into the right corner, her hair was loose in a couple of places and her dress was crumpled. It only served to infuriate him further.

'Back away from her. NOW.' Another bolt of lightning flashed in the window, enveloping a part of his face in the light. Even Hermione shivered from the coldness in his voice. Ron ignored him and tried to kiss her again, but she pushed him off yet again, succeeding only barely, the redhead still managing to touch her lips lightly with his. That did it. With a hiss Draco walked up to them, pealed Weasley forcefully off of Hermione and punched him hard in the jaw. Ron looked confused as he fell a couple of feet away from them, losing consciousness in the process.

The brunette yelped, her back slammed against the wall. Draco turned around, his face radiating anger and pure hatred and walked slowly in her direction. She felt like a prey that couldn't get away. As he stepped closer towards her, his grey eyes softened and she could trace a feeling of guilt behind them. He walked up to her and touched her cheek, inspecting her face and her body for injuries.

'Are you alright?' his voice was low and soft, as if he was afraid he'd hurt her just by speaking.

She nodded in a daze, not able to escape his eyes. They said so much, the feeling radiating from them enveloped her whole body as a blanket. She felt shivers go down her skin where he touched her and felt the incredible want to touch him more.

'I'm fine really, he drank some of the pink punch and got drunk. Then as I was bringing him to his room he started getting forceful.'- she whispered not leaving his eyes for a moment. '… tried to kiss me and then he wanted even more...'

Draco visibly groaned, looking extremely unhappy. The rage returned to his face once again. She put both hands on his face and told him to calm down. He said nothing, but he hugged her gently. Then he moved his wand and her make-up, her hair and her dress were fixed. She smiled at him.

'He drank the pink punch?' The blonde ran a hand through his hair, inspecting the very unconscious Ron Weasley.

'I'm afraid so.'

'I thought that only the girls drank it.'

'Oh no, we know by now not to touch the stuff. After a few years the rumors start to go around.' She smirked at him and he returned the same gesture.

They stared at each other for a while and then they heard someone coming over from the left side of the corridor. Draco turned his head sharply in that direction and then leaned in closer towards her.

'I'm going to go. Will you be alright?' He looked concerned and she couldn't help but laugh in return.

'With an Unconscious Weasley? I think I'll manage.' He lingered for a moment before gently kissing her cheek and hurrying away into the opposite direction. Not without kicking the damn Weasel once in the ribs on his way out and when Hermione glared at him, he put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, saying 'I tripped.' The he walked off grinning like a wolf.

Hermione was soon enveloped in the light of Neville's wand.

'Are you okay, Hermione? What happened to Ron?' the boy inquired and his blonde date Luna inspected the redhead.

'I think he's got a bad case of wrackspurts. They're all over the place. I told you Neville, I saw some when he entered the ballroom. They must have multiplied. That's why he was acting so strangely.'

Hermione gently smiled at the weird girl. Whenever something happened, Luna always found her own explanation.

'Yes well, he was acting strange and he accidentally knocked himself out on one of the columns. Can you help me take him to his room?'

'Sure Hermione, we'll help you.' Neville muttered a spell that made Ron's body lift up into the air and they went on through the corridor. Hermione grabbed her purse and joined them.

'Too bad I didn't bring my vial, I could have sampled them. Strange that these wrackspurts caused him to hit his head. They do cause some dizziness you see, but never so severely as to cause the bearer any harm. An interesting variant of the species indeed.' Hermione concluded the blonde girl must have been talking more to herself than to anyone else.

Draco, on the other hand, felt a little angry at himself for kissing her so openly. She was affecting him far too much. Blaise had been right, it was only a matter of time before someone else saw it. He'd have to keep it under control. If she were to reciprocate, then he could finally calm down, knowing it wasn't only him that was feeling it. But now he had no guarantee whatsoever and he hated it. It was never as hard with any other girl before. Now he had to be creative. Get her attention and make sure no one noticed it. It was a game he wasn't sure he was going to win.

Draco walked through their portrait door and entered the common room. He had decided that after seeing Weasley and Granger together he really didn't feel like going back to the dance. Not really. His mood was ruined. Plus it was annoying as hell watching everyone drool at the sight of her. She really had no clue the effect she had on the male population.

The bow tie came undone and he unbuttoned his shirt slowly, entering his room without looking up. He kicked off his shoes and looked up towards his wardrobe before stopping at the tall and dark figure in front of it, blocking his path.

The Malfoy boy's eyes widened in shock as he stared into the eyes of none other than his godfather.

'Evening Draco.' Severus Snape said slowly, drawing out each word. Draco Malfoy stood frozen in his place, still holding the third button of his shirt between his fingers. There was his potions professor in the flesh and his portrait had a deep gash of burnt canvas instead. His **dead** potions professor.

**(Okay so a couple of things first. One, the room of requirement was mostly destroyed, but they managed to salvage some of the things in there, though not most of them. All the other damage repaired itself magically. What else? I felt like Draco needed to do some physical damage to Ron because he was so enraged and felt that magic was too good for him. So he openly used physical violence. (Don't try it at home folks). If any other questions arise, I will gladly answer them. As for now, hope you enjoyed reading, farewell my dears! Read and review, I loved every one of the reviews I got and I do hope some more people will review later on.)**


	8. Chapter 8 : Intruder

Chapter 8: Intruder

'I don't even know what to say. This is extraordinary. ' It was a first that the headmistress and the full staff of teachers were present in her office looking at a gloomy looking man with crossed arms and sleek black hair. His dark gaze was unmoving, but he appeared to be extremely insulted to be looked at like an object.

'I don't mean to be rude, _Severus_, but how are you well here, **now**? Are you… alive? Are you a ghost?'

The man kept his arms crossed and looked towards the crowd of teachers with distaste.

'I don't know, Minerva. As I've told you already...' – he drawled on, getting more exasperated with each word.-'I was in the painting and then lightning hit. Then I was on Mr. Malfoy's floor...that is all I know.'

The teachers all whispered between themselves and Minerva McGonagall just barely heard professor Flitwick, who was so much shorter and quieter than everyone else that his voice did not break the general noise made up of everyone else.

'Be quiet everyone, what are you saying Filius?'

'I was just saying that he could be something like a projection of the portrait, he doesn't seem like he is alive and he doesn't look like a ghost. Look, I can even touch him and feel the material of his clothing. I couldn't do that if he was a ghost.' as if to show what he meant the short professor took Snape's cloak between his fingers, feeling the fabric. Snape sneered and pulled it out of his hand forcefully. Profesor Flitwick looked a bit startled, but continued. ' It's described in books to have happened before once or twice. When a portrait projects into the real world.'

'Yes, but that's just stories. In _books_! All **theory**! I can't say I honestly know anyone who has had a person come out of a portrait and stand there to talk to them! This is insane!'

'Could he be a transfiguration of sorts?' asked some teacher. Draco was standing around in a corner still shocked about this whole thing.

'No, transfigurating an object into a person requires a skill that no known wizard possesses.'

'Pollyjuice potion?'

McGonagall shook her head. 'That would require a hair of Snape's and since he's technically dead, his hair would be useless in a polyjuice potion.'

'Maybe it was Mr. Malfoy, he's known to be a deatheater , maybe he tried some dark magic and this is what happened.' The ancient runes teacher suggested, waving her hand in Malfoy's direction.

The boy stood up abruptly from his sitting position, fury and confusion written all over his face. Why did they always have to remind him of that? Why couldn't at least the teachers be tolerant? Just as he was about to say something Severus Snape interfered.

'I found myself on the other side of the painting and I was completely alone. Only moments later did Mr. Malfoy stumble in to find me, and he did not look like he had done it… on purpose.' Snape looked over at Draco, who stared back intently at him.

'I agree, this is a terrible thing to attack poor Mr. Malfoy, who is a responsible young man. It is extremely ill-mannered of you, Bathsheda, to remind the boy of his past. You will refrain from doing it in the future.'

The younger woman lowered her head and nodded.

'For the time being we'll just have to figure out what to do with this development. I don't know what to make of this so far, so Severus, you will stay in my separate quarters until we figure out what to do with you. As for anyone in this room, do not speak a word of this to anyone, understood? You too, Mr. Malfoy.'

Draco agreed and left the office. That was the last he heard anything of Severus Snape for a while. Neither the teachers, nor the headmistress ever mentioned Snape again, nor did he show himself to anyone until a fortnight passed.

It was their defense against the dark arts lesson on Thursday and both Slytherin and Gryffindor had this class together. Of course she was here. He hoped the new teacher didn't decide to pair up people from different houses today. He had avoided her quite wonderfully the last two weeks, refusing to talk to her more than necessary, doing patrols alone and finding every damn excuse in the book to not be around her. It was almost perfect except the few times his eyes fought him and found her in the crowd.

Two days after the dance he had watched her during breakfast. It was hard not to, as his eyes had drifted towards the redhead sidekick of Potter, who was sporting a nice big bruise on his lower jaw. Apparently even Madam Pomfrey had not succeeded to heal what he'd managed to do. That had made him quite happy, knowing he branded the Weasel with his fist, leaving a bruise to remind him of that fact. As he smiled observing the redhead try and devour his meal while wincing from pain he caught _her_ staring heatedly back at him. She was angry. He had to hear her bickering afterwards about how he could have been gentle as Weasley didn't know what he was doing.

He would have gotten into a discussion about how Weasley knew fairly well what he was doing and had he not done what he had done, the Weasel would have probably raped her too. His wish to talk to her was changed by anger when he realized that after all she had defended her friend who had been in the wrong rather than him, who had been in the right. Whatever he did was never good enough for her. She would just not see him that way ever, would she? He decided he didn't like being a martyr so he would avoid her for the rest of the year as best as he could. It was a difficult task knowing they were living together, had head duties together and somehow ended up in most of their classes together. He'd still done a marvelous job of simply pretending she didn't exist, even if his eyes did wonder towards her, seeking out her features. Then he'd remember how she had always shown him her preference to anyone over him and would turn away again scowling.

And so yet again he was forced with her presence, which he could literally feel. He knew when she was in the same room as him as he so desperately tried to pretend he didn't. Malfoy tried to focus on his discussion with Blaise, but was failing miserably once again when he saw her enter the classroom with the female Weasley.

'So then Parvatti said he had given her points off for no good reason! She was just going to the greenhouse as professor Spout had asked, but he deducted points anyway! The foul git!' the redhead chimed and he could feel Granger's eyes boring into his scull when she passed him.

'He must have had a reason. Wasn't she out after curfew? Even if it was something a professor asked her, she could have managed to do it two hours earlier. He wasn't wrong you know.' Hermione looked over at the blonde boy's head that she passed and couldn't help but feel irritated to find him turned away from her once again. He never looked her way when she saw him and he refused to talk. He had secluded himself to pretending she was the dirt beneath his shoes and she hated that. He had been rather sweet to her on the dance and then he'd gone to his prick persona once again. He was beyond infuriating. She tried talking to him, but he brushed her off every single time.

'What? You're defending him now? What's wrong with you?' Ginny almost shrieked as she sat down, putting her books down forcefully on the table next to Hermione's.

'Well no, I'm not… it's just that...ugh never mind. Let's not discuss it further, okay?' the brunette was pleading her friend to stop this but she just hmphed and turned towards Harry to talk to him. Ron gave Hermione a wave and she smiled. His bruise was almost gone now. She was happy that by some lucky accident he didn't remember how he got it and she hadn't exactly felt like telling him or anyone else about it either.

The class continued chatting until they heard the door slam shut and the curtains closing with force. A dark figure entered the classroom slowly, deliberately drawing out his steps. Each row of students he passed gasped and shut up immediately. Some even froze in their places out of horror. Hermione was flipping through her book until she heard Ron gasp and Harry mutter 'it's not possible!' before a tall dark man passed her table like a shadow. Everyone was silent. The man took his position at the front of the class and scrutinized every one of his students.

'I am professor Severus Snape as I'm sure every one of you remembers. I will be your temporary Defense against the Dark arts teacher as your current teacher has…'- he looked at Harry narrowing his eyes and finished with a breath-'gotten ill.'

A hand shot up immediately and it was unsurprisingly Hermione.

'But professor, excuse me for asking this, how are you here?'

He crossed his arms over wrapping himself in his black cloak and penetrated her with his gaze.

'It's not any of your business, Miss Granger, but I shall answer once and for all so that all of you leave this in peace and can actually concentrate on learning something. _For once_. I am something like a ghost. **No more questions.**'

Everyone looked around and began to whisper amongst themselves. Snape slammed his hand harshly on the table of the first row where Neville Longbottom was positively shaking.

'No more **talking**. Now...'- he pulled out a wand and waved it and the font of the classroom transformed into a small stage. 'As you remember in your second year you had your little Dueling club. As pathetic as that might have been, I do find it quite useful for today's lesson. You will be revising how to block offensive spells. Volunteers?' He raised an eyebrow, his voice cold and even. Most of the students shrunk in their seats. 'No? How about Mister Longbottom and Miss Greengrass?' He dragged Neville up by his collar and showed Daphne Greengrass to join the paling boy on stage.

The two stood a couple of feet from one another and the others observed. Much to everyone's surprise Neville managed to make Daphne land on her bum a few feet further, although she didn't land too forcefully. Then he was joined by Nott, who in turn blocked his spell and tried to attack Neville, but they both landed on the floor.

'Pathetic, Nott, Longbottom. How is it that both of you weren't able to defend yourselves? You're both off the stage.'

Draco scowled at Theo for disgracing himself and whispered to Blaise that it would be very amusing if Potter and Weasley had to face each other for once. No sooner had he said it Snape called the Golden Duo on stage.

'Weasley, Potter - do _try_ not to embarrass yourselves? You are the _**war heroes**_ after all.' He had said it with so much distaste that Harry had to sharply turn around and look at Snape. Why was he so bitter? Was this really the ghost of Snape? Ghosts were supposed to remember things from their own lives, weren't they? He had been the one to see Snape's true self when he was dying and it wasn't anything like the person he was seeing now.

Ron looked as uncomfortable as Harry felt. They both nodded and Ron tried the first attack, which Harry easily blocked. Then Harry attacked Ron with an easy spell he knew, but somehow Ron was caught by surprise and fell back.

'Let's say it's adequate, Potter. Although you could have tried something else. This was a first grade spell. Hardly worth blocking altogether. Next, Parvatti Patil? Join Mister Potter.' The dark haired girl shyly walked up on stage, but held her wand firm. Harry, being the gentleman, didn't attack Pavatti but waited for her attack to block it instead. He momentarily glanced over at Ginny, who was looking at him intently and then he was thrown onto the cold floor.

When he was still on the ground seconds later without a reaction, Hermione and a few other Gryffindors rushed over to him.

'Are you okay Harry? You look a bit out of it. What spell did you hit him with Parvatti?'

'Oh I... um... it was a simple stupefy. I don't know why he's suddenly looking so out of it.'

'It's okay guys, I must have hit my head, that's why I'm so fuzzy.'

Snape joined them, inspecting Potter.

'It seems you really must have hit your head Potter. Go down to Madam Pomfrey so she can get you inspected. Weasley, you accompany him and be back before this lesson is over or I shall count it as your absence in this lesson.' Ron grumbled, but helped Harry up nonetheless and they walked through the huge doors of the classroom.

When the two of them entered the Hospital Wing Madam Pomfrey was rushing about, looking through her vials and her medical equipment.

'What's wrong with him dear?' she asked Ronald, who was still holding on to Harry as his steps were a little uneven.

'He hit his head in the lesson; can you give him something for that?'

'Is your head hurting dear?' she inspected the boy with the glasses. He was a frequent visitor she noticed. Every year a few times he would visit her here. She wished this year would be different for the poor boy, but her prayers were not answered.

'Well a little, mostly it's spinning. I can't seem to even walk straight.'

'Ah alright dear, I'll give you a potion for dizziness. Put him there on the bed Mr. Weasley, good, that's it. I'll just be a minute dear, I was just going through my stock and I did see the needed potion here somewhere.' – she lifted one glass vial and then the next, and then went over to a blue one before her face lit up. 'A-ha! That's the one. Here, drink this. The potion causes drowsiness though, so you'll probably be asleep in no time. When you wake, your headache and dizziness should be gone.' She gave the boy the vial and he drank it, surprised that it didn't actually taste too bitter like most potions did. 'Now off with you , should be fine on his own.'

Ron said his goodbye and strutted off back towards the DATDA classroom, a little slower than he could have.

Harry rested on the hospital bed feeling the sleep start to consume him. As far as he could see there were others in the room, but he couldn't make out who as sleep was starting to consume him. Well at least he wouldn't have to continue with defense against the dark arts, where the man he saw painfully die was standing right in front of his eyes. His mind was still wrapped up in the whole craziness of it all when his eyes closed shut.

The boy didn't have a very pleasant dream. He kept dreaming about Voldemort. His second year to be exact. He dreamt about being in the chamber of secrets, talking to Tom Riddle, looking at the diary and Ginny. All the while he felt like there was someone standing behind him, watching him. It was intrusive, it was like someone you couldn't see, but could feel prying into your mind. Then the scene shifted and he was talking to Dumbledore who told him about Horcruxes, showed him the ring, the diary again, only this time it was burnt and had a deep hole in the middle. Yet again it was someone in his dream, someone who didn't belong. He stirred in his sleep, sweat trickling his forehead. He fought the presence, tried to push it out of his dream, out of his mind, but it wouldn't budge. Somehow he managed to almost awaken and resisted the force. Although it was dark and he had yet to open his eyes, he lifted his wand and whispered 'legilimens' and he was transported immediately into the mind of someone, catching a glimpse of a conversation. Then he was brought back into consciousness as the person pushed him out of his thoughts and made him lose consciousness in the process.

When Harry awoke, he saw Hermione and Ginny sitting by his bed. Ginny was squeezing his hand and Hermione was looking at him worried. When they saw him wake they immediately stood up.

'Harry! Are you alright? You've been out of it for a whole day!' Hermione looked disheveled and tired. Ginny did not look tons better.

'Have I been? It seems like it was 10 minutes.'

'No, you missed a whole day. It's already after dinner now.' Ginny managed to calm down and sit back next to him.

'Where's Ron?'

Hermione sighted and looked slightly annoyed. 'He's got detention with professor McGonagall.'

'Why?'

'I don't know how he pulled it off but he managed to turn a book into a strange looking animal and insisted he did it just as well as McGonagall. Trust me that wasn't a smart move. Now to forget my tactless brother, how are you feeling?'

Harry rubbed his forehead but did not feel any dizziness so he was relieved. 'Better, thanks.' Then he picked up his glasses from the counter and looked around. With the exception of them the hospital wing was empty.

'I think I was attacked by the person who's causing all of those attacks in Hogwarts at the moment.' He sat up and leant in closer to the girls.

Hermione widened her eyes. 'You were attacked in the Hospital wing? Wasn't Madam Pomfrey here to defend you? Seriously it's not safe anywhere anymore!'

'What did the attacker look like?' Ginny asked.

'It's not like those other students that were attacked. I think the person wanted something from me. He was browsing through my memories using occlumency. '

'Do you remember what he was looking at?' Hermione asked.

'First he looked at the time I was in the chamber of secrets, talking to Tom Riddle and then it was the conversation I had with Dumbledore about Horcruxes.'

'Curious... what could he gain from those memories?' Hermione inquired looking quite puzzled.

'I'm not sure. But what is more curious is that I somehow blocked it and managed to see something from that person's memories. Even though I'm an awful legilimens.'

'That's brilliant Harry!' Ginny smiled.

'He must have been an even worse legilimens. What did you see?'

'I'm not really sure as the memories were quite… fuzzy... all I got was 'You won't fail me… I see it in you… your darkness…' And it was Voldemort saying that...' Harry went completely silent as he watched the girls slump in their seats.

'Someone is acting on _Voldemort's_ accord?' Ginny whispered.

'It could be one of his petty followers, one of those that still are not in Azkaban.' Hermione concluded looking quite thoughtful. She remembered her encounter with Bellatrix Lestrange a few weeks ago and thought it was extremely odd, but maybe someone was pretending to be her just to throw them off.

'They can't be too strong though. Their occlumency skills are really lacking and if I remember correctly the other students were almost all hit with a weak cruciatus? That means that we're dealing with someone who wants to follow in Voldemort's footsteps but is probably too weak to really do it. So all we have to do is find that person and confront him.'

'I don't know Harry... it can't be as simple as that.'

'Hermione, it's been weeks already and not a single student has really been injured. They'd been in the hospital wing for maximum a day and then they were healthy again. If it was someone strong they would have already been dead. That person is bound to make a slip sooner or later and we'll catch him. I'll just have to use the Marauder's map more carefully to trace them. You Hermione try to look for anyone acting suspicious.'

Hermione nodded and stood up to leave seeing that Ginny wanted to be left alone with Harry. She said her goodbyes and left the couple.

She was extra careful going through the hallway even if it was just evening. She was particularly perplexed after talking to Harry. Hermione made a mental list of all the things peculiar that had happened recently: people were getting cursed by a weak cruciatus, she had seen Bellatrix Lestrange, Snape was back, someone was ruffling through Harry's mind in search of information. Her head started to throb. She was missing some vital information, but what?

The Head girl stood facing the portrait to the head's dormitories which easily opened after the correct password she whispered. She rubbed her temples when she entered. It was really all too much. She hoped the headmistress and the teachers were doing a better job at finding the culprit because they hadn't really progressed much. And it had already been **weeks**. Hermione continued to rub her temples, but the headache was not decreasing. She lifted her gaze to see Malfoy sitting lazily on the couch, reading a book. She could have sworn she felt his heated gaze on her, but when she looked up at him he remained passive towards her, his eyes lazily scanning the book.

Hermione walked up to Malfoy and asked him if he had made the new patrolling schedules she asked of him but he ignored her. She pursed her lips in anger. Malfoy was still acting as if she didn't exist in the same room with him.

'Malfoy!' She yelled, but he simply flipped a page and said nothing. Her headache seemed to increase tenfold. This had been going on for weeks and it was more than enough. She raised her wand and his book disappeared in his hands.

'Hey! What gave you the idea you could take away my..' he stood up angry but she interrupted him coming dangerously close to where he was standing.

'You won't talk to me and I've had enough of it! I can't live like this with you! It's annoying and it's unreasonable!'

He merely scowled. ' I don't find you worth my time, _Mudblood_.'

She puffed up her chest and was standing inches away from him now. Hermione noticed the taller boy visibly flinch and move away a step backwards from her.

'I thought we were past this. _You _were past this. You can't just go back to the way it was before.'

'I can and I did. Live with it. I'd prefer it too if you were back in the Gryffindor dorms rather than here. Go back whimpering to little old Potter and Weasley. Tell them big bad Malfoy is making your life insufferable.' Malfoy said gazing darkly.

'You're being such a prat. Don't pretend like you hate me, I know you don't.' Hermione was pushing his limits and she knew that but she wanted an answer. Had she imagined all the times he'd been nice to her? Had he simply played with her feelings and when he got the wanted response, he dropper her like a toy. She couldn't believe that. It **had been** real.

'I hate you Granger. I truly do.' His tone was cold and bitter, but she wasn't buying it.

'I know you don't hate me.' – Hermione took a step back. 'In fact, I'll prove it to you.' Her eyes gleamed with determination as she took out her wand.

'If you think that I won't hex you if you attack me to prove I don't hate you, you are fairly mistaken _Wonder Girl_. I will make you suffer in return, so don't even _go there_.' Draco spat out.

'No, that won't be necessary.' Hermione whispered. She pointed her wand at herself and in a moment she turned into a small brown feline.

His mask of anger fell in an instant and the blond boy was left standing rigid and glued to his spot on the plush black carpet. He remembered this small cat very clearly and he remembered it was also the day when he… oh he was so fucked. She _knew_.

In an instant she turned back around and observed him. Draco Malfoy was a frozen statue. He looked quite pale. She was almost afraid he'd faint. It was unclear from his face if he was angry, horrorstruck or wanted to jump out the window.

The brunette brushed away a strand of hair from her face and eyed the floor. A moment later neither had spoken. It was up to her then to say something. Great.

As she was about to open her mouth to say something he interrupted. 'You knew?'

She nodded, lifting her gaze to look up at him and he seemed angry.

'You fucking KNEW? Why didn't you say anything?' He scanned her eyes for an answer.

'I um... well... I wanted you to tell me yourself. Were you being honest?'

Malfoy regained himself quickly, blushing profusely, which he hoped she didn't catch. He hadn't thought about actually talking to her about his developed crush on her. He was still quite in the denial stage which ranged with the hope that it would go away. But now it was blatantly obvious he had told her he liked her a few weeks ago. So now after the initial shock wore off his mind buzzed the possible ways to go about this. Option A: ignore it. Okay how was that possible, it wasn't like she could forget it. Unless he were to obliviate her… Option B: tell her the truth. He thought she was absolutely gorgeous and wanted to snog her senseless. _That_ was out of the question. She hated him, he reminded himself. Option C: deny the whole thing and lie.

'Of course not. I was making fun of you. See, if you started to like me I could mock you for Merlin knows how long. Let it go, Granger, apparently the trick didn't work.' Option C it was.

'Draco, you're blushing.' Hermione said.

'What is it with you and wanting to know **everything**? I'm perfectly content to stick to avoiding you for the rest of the year and then I can forget it altogether. Not like we'll be seeing much of each other after that.' It was becoming harder with each moment to keep his voice steady.

'Hm… You are rather bad at lying, do you know that?'

He blushed even more. Option C failed, so now he could only tell her the truth. 'If you want to make fun of me for it, go ahead. Just don't tell Potter and Weasley, they're annoying enough as it is.' Draco went to the armchair and sat down in it absentmindedly, propping his right elbow on his knees and resting his head on his palm.

Hermione felt a rush of warmth spread to her cheeks.

'Why didn't you tell me yourself? Why did you act so harsh, ignored me, insulted me?'

'Well I couldn't just prance into the Great Hall and announce to everyone that I had feelings for **Hermione Granger** now could I? It's me we're talking about, remember? I'm the _death eater_ and you're the _war heroine_. Best friend to Potter.' He bit his lower lip in annoyance, but didn't look at her. Now that she knew there was only one solution to it all. He knew that but he hated it. Maybe it could be avoided. His mind told him something different. If he wanted to live through this, he couldn't do anything else. He'd have to erase her memory of the whole thing.

'Not the Great Hall, but you could have told **me**.' Hermione said.

'I'm not a fan of rejection sweetheart. I'd rather not do anything at all than be blatantly rejected. It wasn't like I didn't try... I asked you to go to the Quidditch match, yet you didn't come.' Hermione looked up at him guiltily but he continued. 'You also went to the dance with Blaise.'

'It's not like you actually asked me!' she shouted angrily.

He looked up at her, his silver eyes firing up. 'It's not like I could have! That's the bloody point! How can I? He can, but I can't! You hate me!'

'I don't hate you.' Hermione whispered talking small steps towards the armchair he was sitting in, still looking at a particular spot on the carpet so as not to look at her eyes again. He felt so weak looking into her eyes.

'I know you do. That's why I can't have you knowing all this. This weakness of mine. This _**thing**_... I have developed for you.' He stood up from his armchair and lifted his wand. 'Which is why I have to obliviate you, there is no other choice.'

Hermione reached him and put her hand on his hand, the one he was holding his wand with, gently pushing it down.

'Well except maybe **accept** the fact that I like you too, Draco.' He blinked and looked up at her like she had grown an extra head.

'_What_?' his voice cracked.

'I figured I'd like to try out calling you by your first name for once.' she smiled.

'Not that! What did you just say?' Draco said.

'I said I like yo..' she wasn't able to finish as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up in the air and kissing her lips in one long breathless kiss. She kissed back, her surprise dying on his lips. He put her down and released her lips for a moment to smirk.

'You are one sadistic bitch, you know that?' his smirk turned into a chuckle as he was absolutely beaming now.

'Excuse me, Malfoy?' she struggled within his grasp, ready to hex his ass off for being so rude after they had just shared a moment.

'We're back to Malfoy now, are we? I mean you have known for weeks that I like you and yet you keep me in the dark, leaving me alone to suffer.' He nuzzled his nose with hers, but kept her in his arms, even though she was struggling.

She pouted. 'Some knowledge. You said it to a cat. A cat! I wasn't even supposed to know that. And I probably would have never found out if not for that incident. Besides I wanted to hear you say it to me in person.'

'And if you had said you hated me? Then to have you send Potter and Weasley after me? No chance.'

'I never thought you were scared of Harry or Ron for that matter. They shall be pleased to know they have that impact on you.' He simply scowled at her and she smirked, but he was far too happy to keep scowling.

'Not a word to Potter.'

'Okay, as long as you don't tell anyone of your friends. Or followers. I've noticed you have a lot of those.'

He smirked. 'Happy that you've managed to snug someone so popular, eh?'

'No, I'm just not into being torn into shreds by angry mobs. So, let's agree on something. Whatever this... is that we are going to have… will remain between us. No one can know. I won't tell any of my friends and you won't tell yours. '

'You'll be my dirty little secret, Granger?' His smirk increased tenfold.

'I'll ignore that. Now, did you make the new patrol schedules like I asked you to?'

**(Okay so this chapter is basically about nothing.. Ugh.. I am so disappointed with myself, but some things had to happen so voilà. Hope you aren't that disappointed? m, m? Please tell me it's fine? I'm gonna try harder with the next one I promise ;) I just hope you enjoyed the Draco-Hermione scene. It had to happen sometime, right? Why not in chapter 8? Hm? Please read and review! By the way I can't seem to stop listening to Florence + the machine: shake it out recently.)**


	9. Chapter 9: Moonlock

Chapter 9: Moonlock

Draco opened his eyes and got out of bed. He took his clothes in his right hand and took a towel. Then he walked out his door and observed the door on the opposite wall. She was still sleeping. He couldn't hear any sort of noise so he decided to head for the shower. It was a Sunday, thus he didn't need to hurry off to go to lessons, nor did he need to wake her just yet.

As water droplets descended on his warm skin he felt himself sigh and relax. The last two weeks had been to say the least great. He had been liberated from hiding his feeling for his brunette Gryffindor girl and could do whatever came to mind. Well, almost. She was so stubborn when it came to activities without clothes on that he had to succumb and wait for her to be ready for it. That didn't mean he couldn't use dirty tricks if he wanted. He could and he bloody well would. She was a girl after all and he knew he wasn't unattractive, so he would make her want him as much as he wanted her. He smirked as he got out of the shower. He could hear noises behind the shower room door thus he assumed she was up and making herself some tea. She had a habit of drinking a cup before going to the great hall for breakfast.

Draco dried his hair slightly with his towel and put on some pants, casually draping his shirt over his shoulder. He entered the small kitchen they shared without her noticing him. Hermione was leaning against the countertop with her back to him stirring her tea and reading a book.

"Time to taunt my little prey." he thought and smirked. The blonde walked up quietly behind her and leant in next to her right ear to whisper: 'Morning'.

The girl jumped a little as shivers ran down her skin from his warm breath.

'Malfoy, you scared me! Merlin, don't do that! I might die of a heart attack or something.' She whipped her head around and stopped talking when she looked at him. Small droplets of water were glistening on his wonderfully sculpted seeker chest and abdomen. Her eyes wandered over him and then she caught his increasing smirk. The golden girl blushed and turned her head away stubbornly. 'And put on a shirt will you?'

'Why? Am I making you feel uncomfortable?' – the blonde continued to smirk, brushing a finger along her spine, then along her shoulder blades and on the left side of her neck. He could feel her skin catching goosebumps and her breathing becoming heavy and irregular.

'N..no.' she stammered, but tried to maintain her voice steady. 'I'm afraid you'll get cold. It's not that warm yet.'

He smiled and softly pressed his lips into the crook of her neck, making her breath hitch one more time.

'I'm really warm, Granger. How about I show you how much I can warm you up too, hm?' he leant in and pressed his lips against hers softly. At first she responded stiffly, but then she melted underneath him as his hands softly wrapped themselves around her, tugging her closer, pressing into her more fervently. He would never tire of her kiss. Kissing her was always raw, passionate and unhinged. She was ambrosia.

When their tongues met they both felt the shivers erupt through their skin and the kiss turned even more feverish. Hermione tangled her hands inside his still slightly wet hair. She barely noticed how the top two buttons came undone under his skillful fingers. Then when the third one near her breasts popped she took notice. He was undressing her. The nerve! She had told him last night she wasn't ready to go one step further, yet he blatantly ignored her and was moving his own pace now. She opened her eyes, took her wand out and hexed him.

Draco opened his eyes promptly and backed up a step, blowing on his fingers. They were throbbing painfully. He eyed her angry expression and smiled apologetically.

'Sorry, that was on instinct. I'll try to behave.' he said and she nodded. The she put her book in her bag and headed out the door. He smiled deviously. He was definitely _not_ sorry. Draco Malfoy would get her to succumb sooner or later. More likely sooner than later though. He'd gotten her to like him, getting her to sleep with him would be even easier. If only her silly morals weren't in the way.

xxxx

Hermione clutched her book bag in her hands as she stormed off towards the great hall. Having Draco Malfoy as a boyfriend was not easy. For one, he was so used to getting girls to sleep with him that he naturally assumed that's what they'd be doing once they were dating. WRONG. She wasn't about to lose any of her morals and just sleep with him two weeks after they had started dating. That would make her one of those easy little bins he had dated before. She refused to stoop to that level. They hadn't reached that level of intimacy just yet and she didn't want to ruin what they had by rushing into things. It was unbelievably hard though. Whether he was doing it unconsciously or on purpose, he was constantly reminding her what she was missing out on. He had a wonderfully delicious physique that made her ache to touch him.

Two, they were in a secret relationship. She couldn't tell her friends about it. She wanted to ask someone for advice. Ginny would tell her if she was acting right or if she was being too stubborn by refusing to get physical with him. There were those moments where she felt her mind wander and wanted to just say what the hell and go along with it. But then her senses would kick back in and tell her to stop before anything would get ruined. On the other hand, her friends were one of the biggest problems. If they knew she was currently dating _**the**_ Draco Malfoy, they would have a fit. Ron would blow up in her face, calling her a traitor. And Harry… Harry would be hurt. They had been rivals with Malfoy since the first year and their rivalry was still going strong. What had she been thinking when she told him she liked him? This relationship was doomed from the start.

'Hi Mione. How are you today?' Harry was polite as usual and Ron mumbled something between bites of his sandwich while reading the Daily Prophet.

'I'm okay. Have you noticed anyone walking along the corridors at night with the Marauder's map, Harry?' – she asked sitting down in front of them.

'Nothing so far, Mione. But there hasn't been any attacks the last week either. I have a few suspicions, but I'd rather not point any fingers and just see if my suspicions are correct. Keep an eye out when you're patrolling, you have a good chance of seeing someone too. We'll discuss it later when we meet up in the Gryffindor common room.' He looked around and Hermione understood. It wasn't the time to talk about it as there were far too many eyes and ears around them at the moment.

'Where's Ginny by the way?'

'She finished eating before you came and went to practice on the field. The match against Slytherin is coming up. We'll be joining her when we're done. Ron is just taking a little longer to eat...' Harry grinned and Ron shot him a look.

'Oh, I see.' – Hermione said and eyed the slytherin table two tables further. The blonde boy was already seated and talking to Blaise about something, his right elbow propped on the table, the fingers of that hand resting against the corner of his lips as he appeared completely at ease and oblivious to her.

She turned her gaze back to Ron, who was finishing his sandwich to take a bowl full of porridge.

'I can't wait to see Malfoy's face when we smash them this year. That ferret is going to turn green I tell you!' He high fived Harry and it made Hermione a little sad.

'Um, of course you will, you do it every year.' She said, not really meaning it. Then she felt something tickling her and looked down under the table. A little paper ant was crawling its way up her leg. She caught it and it dissolved into a piece of paper. It was a note.

"_**Miss me? Was that why you were looking so longingly at me a minute ago?"**_

She raised her head from under the table and looked up at him. Draco's eyes wandered towards her for a moment gleaming and his lips barely hinted a smile, while his face was still turned towards his housemates at the table, appearing to be keenly participating in the conversation.

Hermione felt like she wanted to stick her tongue out at him, but then another sentence appeared just below the first one.

"_**By the way you forgot to button those three buttons of your blouse. I'd appreciate you not wasting that delicious view on Potter and Weasley."**_

She blushed profusely and began to button her opened blouse. Draco on the other side of the hallway was sniggering, unable to keep it in any longer. His housemates looked at him strangely and he pretended to have choked on his food instead.

'What's wrong?' Harry asked looking at his very flustered best friend.

'Nothing Harry, it's nothing.' she said hurriedly, looking herself up and down to see if everything else was in order and glaring at Draco at the Slytherin table, who once again pretended to not notice that.

'Then we better get going. Ron, you've had enough to eat, come on. We'll be late for practice. It doesn't look good if the captain himself is late.' Harry eyed Ron, who seemed to have forgotten his half eaten pudding and hurried off the bench.

'Bye then, Mione! See you later!' Ron hurriedly grabbed his bag and ran a few feet in front of Harry.

'Harry, wait a moment!' Hermione yelled and Harry turned around surprised. 'Could you lend me the M... map for tonight? I'm going to be patrolling and I can check for anyone lurking about in the corridors at the same time. '

Harry didn't put much thought in it and pulled out the Marauder's map.

'Sure. Make sure you're careful though, okay? Don't go looking for trouble alone.'

'Harry, I can take care of myself.' – Hermione's tone was strict but Harry just kindly smiled and began to retreat.

'I know you can, I'm just asking you to be careful.'

'Fine.' It wasn't like she was going to patrol alone anyway.

xxxxxx

She spent most of the day in the library, searching through books if maybe she could get an idea about what had been happening recently. At the end of the day she still had no idea what she was searching for. Hermione didn't bother going home for she knew that Malfoy was going to be spending time with the slytherins and then he had the field reserved for practice after Harry. It was almost time for her patrol anyway.

The brunette met up with her partner for the evening, Hannah Abbot. A once cheery Hufflepuff was now slightly peeved to be patrolling as she had been one of those who had been attacked recently. Hermione could sense the other girl's discomfort a mile away. She was probably only doing it because she knew she wasn't alone.

'Listen, how about we go round one time and if we spot nothing, we go back to our dorms? It's not like there would be anyone stupid enough to go out at night with everything that's been happening...' Hannah said. She shivered and sharply looked over a corner, holding her wand at the ready.

'I told you, we're supposed to do this for a couple of hours. What if someone gets hurt because we're not there to help them?' Hermione was growing impatient with the girl. Honestly, she was better off alone than being with Hannah.

'What if _**we**_ get hurt?' – her voice was trembling.

'Fine, Hannah. If you're so afraid I'll let you go back to your dorms and I will finish patrolling alone.'

'You should go back too, Hermione. It's not safe here in the dark...' –Hannah said, but she was already sprinting towards the Hufflepuff common room with full speed, her wand still clutched tightly in her right hand.

Hermione sighted. This was going to be a long night. The empty hallway seemed to reciprocate as it responded back to her in eerie silence. She straightened herself and took out the Marauder's Map out of her bag. She looked at their dorms first and noticed that Draco Malfoy was in their common room. It soothed her nerves a little. He was safe and sound. What about Harry, Ron, Ginny? They were all in the Gryffindor tower, apparently doing something in their rooms. She looked through all of Hogwarts, but she saw no one walking in the hallways except for Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris.

"Well this is a bust." – she thought to herself. Bringing the map had been useless. But she couldn't have just expected to unfold it and find her culprit, now could she? She folded it up again and started to patrol the hallways. A half an hour later she caught some first year slytherins lurking about and after deducting twenty points each she sent them off on their way. It was nearing midnight and she was almost done with her rounds, yet she had a feeling she should check the map once more before heading home.

The map came undone and she saw the castle was as calm as before. Then her eyes caught a name near the forbidden forest.

'Neville?!'- she exclaimed. Surely Neville Longbottom wasn't doing something suspicious near the forbidden forest in the middle of the night. She folded the map and quickly walked towards her goal.

When she reached the edge of the forest she sawNeville hunching down in the meadow.

'What are you doing here, Neville?' – Hermione lowered her wand to light up Neville, who looked up at her with a small smile.

'Oh, Hermione! Hi! I was just looking for a plant for a Herbology project. It is quite rare you know...' – his eyes narrowed looking at the field in front of him as he ran his fingers through the grass once more.

'It is almost midnight Neville. Wouldn't it be easier to look for it during day time?' She knelt down to see what he was so eagerly looking at. In the dark of the night, even with their wands lit, all the plants looked the same.

'I would if I could. However, what I am looking for is a Moonlock. They only bloom at night. During the day they look like grass and it's impossible to distinguish them. At night though they let out their small blue blower bloom. Just like... that one! There, look I found it!' – he exclaimed happily, showing her a small blue flower, full in bloom. It looked so fragile and so lovely that she had come closer to inspect it.

'It is beautiful Neville. Now please take it with you and then we can be on our way, it's not safe here this late. ' Hermione said and Neville began to take out his pot and his shovel to dig it out. Before she even saw who it was, she caught a slightly purple beam of energy that cut across Neville's left cheek and ear, and the blood began to not drop on the ground but evaporate and head towards the attacker. She stood up and quickly blocked the second attack that came towards Neville. Then the attacker laughed and stood still doing something. As Hermione and Neville were both standing now and their light enveloped the attacker they could see tints of purple and pink in the hair of that person. It was a boyish looking woman, who had a glass vial with a wooden cork in her hand, looking at it curiously.

Both of their eyes widened in horror.

'Tonks?' –Neville was the first one to stammer.

Nymphadora Tonks however just smiled at the tiny vial in her hand and ignored them. Hermione waited not a second before she released an attack at the figure. It couldn't be Tonks, it couldn't! She saw her body buried under a white sheet after the final battle, she saw it, she had been crying when she saw, but she had seen with her own eyes. This was not and could be not the woman they were seeing.

Tonks however waved her hand and blocked the attack easily. Neville attacked her with a stupefy, but yet again it had no effect. The figure put the tiny glass vial into her pocket and pulled out an empty one instead. Then quickly she attacked Hermione, who blocked it once more. Neville and Hermione both tried to attack Tonks, but she just stood there with her lopsided smile and didn't even move her wand. The magic never hit her. Hermione's eyes widened in horror. She motioned for Neville to hide, but he was glued to his spot on the grass.

'Just who... are you? _**what**_ are you?' she asked.

The figure spun the small bottle between her fingers deliberating if she should speak or not.

'Nymphadora Tonks.' – she said still holding onto that strange smile.

'You can't be Tonks, she hates it when people call her Nymphadora...' – Hermione whispered, lowering her wand ever so slightly. It was a chance the woman with purple hair didn't miss however as she unleashed another attack that Hermione tried to block, but it grazed her palm. Again the blood that was supposed to fall on the ground evaporated and reappeared in the tiny glass vial Tonks was holding up.

She pocketed the other glass vial and tried to attack them with a crucio, but both of them were more alert this time and they blocked it easily. They tried to attack her in turn, but it was useless. It appeared as if they hadn't even cast anything as it never hit it's intended target. Tonks looked towards the Forbidden Forrest and saw a sparkling light, then without a warning, she ran off straight into the forest, leaving the two gryffindors dumbfounded.

'Oh no you don't! Come back here, I'm going to bring you back to the castle for questioning!' – Hermione yelled and disappeared between the trees. Neville tried to yell after her but to no avail. She was already gone.

The brunette ran after Tonks, but her figure was disappearing fast between the maze of the trees. Hermione tried to mark a tree every once in a while with a glowing spot to be able to find her way back, but she had been running around for what seemed like hours. Tonks was nowhere to be seen and as she was sure she followed the exact same path the figure ran off to. Now she met with one of her marked trees. How was that possible? Hermione had been going straight north and there was no way she could have met one of her marks. She exhaled angrily. So maybe she had reversed her trajectory, well there was only one way to change that- she turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Twenty minutes later she was once again near the exact same tree. She was going in circles. As she looked around she could hear different animals and leaves rustling, but she couldn't hear any human noises. It was extremely dark and eerie. Maybe she should head back.

Hermione tried to walk in the direction of where she thought she came from, but after an hour of walking she wasn't any closer to her destination. She was beginning to become desperate. She pulled out the Marauder's map out of her pocket and decided it was her best chance to ever get out alive. She followed the map towards the edge of the forest and then she was finally able to see a flock of people with their wands lit.

'Hermione! We've been searching for you for hours! Where have you been?' Ginny was shaking her by the shoulders angrily.

Harry, Ginny, Headmistress McGonagall and a few prefects along with a very worried looking Draco were standing there.

'I was… following Tonks into the forest. She attacked me and Neville... Oh Gods, where is Neville? I just left him there... that was so reckless… is he alright, did anything happen to Neville..?' Hermione was frantic, but Ginny steadied her in a hug.

'Neville is fine, he sent us a Patronus and after we couldn't find you for some time, we let him go back to his room. What are you talking about by the way Hermione. _Tonks_? Tonks is dead, you know that.' Harry put his hand on the girl's shoulder gently.

'No, I swear we saw Tonks, just ask Neville! That's why I followed her into the forbidden forest. She attacked us.'

'That was extremely reckless of you Miss Granger. Going into the Forbidden forest alone at night.' The headmistress' tone was strict and Hermione lowered her head. 'What were you doing before you ran off into the Forest my dear?'

Everyone looked at her expectantly.

'I was patrolling and saw Neville here searching for a Moonlock. When we found it, we were attacked. Here, I have this scar on my left palm to prove it.' Hermione extended her hand, but any kind of scar was absent.

The headmistress nodded her head in understanding.

'It seems you and Mister Longbottom inhaled some of the Moonlock's flower dust. It contains highly hallucinogenic properties. That's probably why you thought you saw Miss Tonks. Alright then, let's hurry back. We should escort you to Poppy, for it seems you have inhaled far too much of it to be recklessly running around the forbidden forest.' Everyone nodded in approval and were heading back to the castle. As they reached the entrance a voice spoke up.

'Headmistress? I don't think it's a good idea to let Granger go to the Hospital wing. Someone might think she was attacked and that would make her lose credibility as a head girl. I think it would be more fortunate if none of the other students found out about this... incident. I'll just bring her to the head dormitories to rest and take up her patrols for the next week.

Ginny looked up at Harry in disbelief. "Since when has Malfoy cared about Hermione's reputation?" Harry shrugged and looked at Malfoy, who was incredibly agitated. The git probably hated being dragged out here in the middle of the night, but that's what he'd get for being one of the Head's.

The headmistress contemplated for a moment but agreed.

'Oh very well, Mr. Malfoy. Bring Miss Granger to her room and make sure she rests so that the effect of the Moonlock can wear off. Everyone else back to your rooms.'

Malfoy dragged her by the hand and didn't say a word until they were safely behind the portrait of their common room.

'Are you INSANE?' – he bellowed at her looking extremely pissed off. She walked back a step slightly surprised.

'What do you mean? I was simply patrolling and...'

'RUNNING INTO THE FORBIDEN FOREST ON YOUR FUCKING OWN? Do you want to give me a heart attack before I'm even twenty?'

'I'm sorry, I just... wanted to catch her. I... didn't think..'

'Never do that again. NEVER. Or I swear I'll curse you into oblivion if you do. Got that?' she nodded and he pulled her into a fierce hug.

'You don't believe it was me just hallucinating, do you?' she asked meekly.

'No. Unlike Potter, Weasley or the old bat I think you are intelligent enough to distinguish between real and imaginary.' Draco's grey eyes bore into hers sternly. She felt a slight pang in her heart that he was the only one that believed her. But it was nice that at least someone did.

'I am positive I saw your cousin Tonks. And last time we saw Bellatrix… I can't help but think that we're onto something.'

'I agree, but still you'd better go rest. You don't have long before you have to get up for class.'

'Don't you have to go to class too?'

Draco shook his head, releasing her from his arms and took an envelope out of his pocket.

'I'm leaving to go home for a day and I leave as soon as possible.'

'What happened?' she gently touched his hand as he showed her the letter he was holding. 'What's this?'

'A letter from my dear old father. Read it.'

Hermione took out the letter from the envelope and in distinguished aristocratic hand writing, although a bit messy was a short inscription.

"_**My dear Narcissa and Draco,**_

_**I write to you to inform you that I am well. I am being treated with extreme kindness and I do enjoy my stay here. Every day I am being taught the error of my ways and have already learned and progressed so much. **_

_**I love you and miss you both.**_

_**Lucius Malfoy."**_

"This… sorry... but this doesn't sound like your father at all.' Hermione gave him back the letter and he chuckled.

'No it does not. Who writes they are being treated with kindness from _**Azkhaban**_? I think he was trying to write something else but it was far too unpleasant for the ones controlling the mail, so they changed the letter. I've asked for a day off school to go home and speak to my mother. She does not take well to receiving letters from father. I'll be back before you notice.' – Draco walked up and kissed her on the forehead.

'When are you leaving?'

'Right now. Now that you're back safe I can go. Please try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone?' his tone was pleading but his gaze was murderous.

'I can't guarantee anything. But that means you'll have to get back sooner to check up on me. ' She grinned deviously. He walked out through the portrait door and shook his head in disbelief.

xxxxxx

As he flood home from the only available place – the Headmistress office fireplace, with her permission of course, he thought he got the address wrong. The place had bright white walls, grey and black furniture and green decorations. It looked nice, but this wasn't the home he remembered.

'Mother! What have you done with the living room?' – he yelled, but she appeared from behind the doorway unexpectedly, wearing green robes and looking slightly eager to see him.

'Is this the first thing you say to your mother after not visiting her since the beginning of the school year? After not even going home for Christmas? Really Draco?' Narcissa Malfoy put both of her hands on his face and he blushed slightly.

'I'm sorry, mother. I've missed you very much and I am very sorry for not making it home for Christmas. I had head duties.' He averted his eyes from her gaze.

'Oh, well that's fine then. I've missed you too, my son, deeply. It was extremely depressing without you here. The remaining relatives gathered but without Lucius or you it was a tad boring. Thus I decided to start redecorating the manor after Christmas. This is as far as I've gotten.' she kissed his cheeks and he looked and felt extremely uncomfortable.

'Please, mother. I'm not five. Don't kiss me like that.' he brushed her hands away and went to sit in one of the new armchairs. They were comfortable, but unusual. He did not like the change.

'Oh be a man Draco. A kiss from your mother will hardly kill you. Or do you have someone to do that to you now…hm? A steady girlfriend finally?' she had hit spot on, but he didn't know if he could refer to Granger as a steady girlfriend. He liked where this was going, but he had yet to introduce the idea to his mother that he might actually fancy someone his whole family and relatives would disapprove of.

'It won't kill me, but I still believe it's unnecessary. Did you receive father's letter?' He was being dismissive but he had no other choice. His mother was really keen on a possible daughter in law.

'Oh I've received it all right. And since you are here, I'm guessing so have you. Prissy...' – she called and a tiny crumpled house elf appeared with a pop.

'Yes, Madam?'

'Please bring over some refreshments and some snacks for Draco and myself.'

'Of course Madam.' the elf bowed and disappeared only to return with some wine, two glasses and some snacks.

'I'm not as shaken up by the letter as you think I should be. It is not the first one we've received, but this one is most certainly the strangest one.'

'What do you mean? I don't think it's strange that they altered the letter into this happy bullshit.'

'Mind your language young man, you will not say such words in your own house. And no, I don't think they altered it. I think it arrived just the way it was supposed to be. I'd recognize your father's handwriting anywhere.' she took a glass and sipped on her wine and Draco took his as well.

'Why would father send us that letter?' the blond boy raised an eyebrow at his mother and she only smiled back at him.

'Why indeed? I guess we'll figure it out in due time.' – then her tone turned happier. 'Don't think I forgot the subject about you dating. So, who is it? Or if it's no one, then I am free to set you up with whoever I want, huh? How about one of the Greengrass girls? They're lovely I've heard.'

He grimaced at the thought, but tried to put on a smile.

'Sure, mother, as you see fit.'

Narcissa Malfoy brushed a blond stray strand behind her ear as it was strangely out of place with her perfect updo. Then she stood up and told Draco to follow her into the Drawing room. They stopped in front of a wall where their family tree was painted. Every picture was pompous and proud. Almost all of the Malfoys had fine blond hair. He looked back at his mother in question, but she pointed at the end of a branch where his name and picture was.

'See my dear, that's you. What do you see next to you?' her voice was calm and serious and she looked at his face for a reaction.

'I can't make it out... it's as if a picture is being drawn, but it's not... quite clear what it's supposed to be.' – he bent his head to the left and came closer to the picture to inspect it, but couldn't make it out. The name was quite fuzzy too.

'It's your wife dear. Your path has already begun to form. So for your sake, I hope you don't fall in love with the person you are currently dating, if you are. Because as soon as that face and name is clear, we're going to have to arrange a marriage for you. You know the tree chooses what's best for the family and there is no use in fighting it. Please don't stress over it dear, I do think you still have some time.'

Draco felt a chill run down his spine. So it was done then. He had a limited time with Hermione and he didn't even know how long it was. It was disheartening to see it, but he had known it was bound to happen sooner or later. He'd just have to deal with it. He excused himself from his mother and went to the Malfoy library instead. Draco didn't feel like dealing with all of that right now.

He stayed in the library until late in the afternoon until he found a book he was looking for. He talked a little with his mother and then returned back to Hogwarts using the Floo.

**(Well that's it. I hope you like this chapter. A little bit more of Draco/Hermione fluff. The next chapter is going to give you a little more information about some things, please look forward to reading it! And read and review! If you are good with your reviews I'll be nice and put up the next chapter in a couple of days rather than weeks as I have almost finished it ;) By the way recently saw the song Heaven 17 –temptation and cant help but think the lead vocalist looks like an old version of Draco, lol :) )**


	10. Chapter 10: White flower

Chapter 10: White flower

She was sitting on the couch in the common room reading something as usual. Her hair was tied into a messy ponytail and her eyes were gleaming like they always did when she was interested in something. Her lips were in a small pout, moving with the words she was trying to repeat while reading. Even if she was wearing her pyjamas with small penguins, she looked beautiful. He stood by the doorway and just observed her. He took the moment to inscribe this into his memory. Why did his mother have to remind him of what he knew himself? It would not last. He was not naïve, he had known all along. But they had been only dating two weeks, barely anything really. Why couldn't he at least have had the end of the school year and then be shown that dreadful Malfoy family tree? He hoped he still had enough time with her. Although he couldn't say how much time was enough.

She noticed him standing in the doorway and stirred from her place on the couch.

'You're back.' he nodded. 'How is your mother?' – she politely asked.

Draco sat down next to her on the couch and put his hand on her cheek to look into her eyes. Honey colored, the color when she was calm. They would turn much darker when she was angry.

'She's fine. Kept saying that there was something more to that letter, but I can't decipher what.'

Hermione was taken aback by his intense stare. His silver orbs were unmoving from her eyes and it made her slightly uncomfortable.

'Maybe we'll look at it together tomorrow. Are you… okay?' she was afraid something had happened to upset him, for he was being far too quiet and too gentle. Draco shook his head slowly and leant in to give her a kiss. She pulled away looking a little dazed and he smiled.

'Been a good girl, have you? Didn't do anything reckless today?' – his voice was teasing and immediately she tensed up. Her eyes turned darker.

'Don't make fun of me Malfoy.'

'I'm not making fun of you.' – he said, but his smirk was telling her a different story. 'Well then, if you were a good girl, I have something for you. Don't go saying no, it's a loan.' He pulled out a pocket book with old black covers and gave it to her.

'A book? 'Secrets of the damned...an introduction to dark magic?' What the… Malfoy! I can't read that, it's illegal probably... I could get in trouble for reading it. Where did you get that?' Hermione was livid, but her hands somehow bypassed her words as she already took it in her hands and began to browse through it. The pages were quite thin and fragile and the text was done in small but neat handwriting.

'It's from our own personal library. Don't fret, it's won't **kill **you. It's about dark magic and spells but it tells you nothing how to actually perform them. I thought maybe it would be helpful to browse through and maybe it would give you some ideas on what you've been wondering about. '

'Okay, thank you, it might be helpful. Thank you Malfoy.'

'Would it kill you to call me by my first name once in a while?' Draco raised one pale eyebrow and she stuck her tongue out.

'You were the one who told me not to get too comfortable with name calling as "it could make us forget to pretend to hate each other in public", remember?'

'I kind of changed my mind about that, _Hermione_.'

Her name rolled off pleasantly from his tongue and she felt warmth spread to her cheeks. It was very intimate and different to hear him say her name.

'I didn't change _my_ mind, **Malfoy**.' and with that she ran off towards her door with the book in hand. 'You should go to sleep , it's late already. Goodnight!' he regained his senses and chased after her.

'Not until you say my name, hey!' she just slammed her door in front of his face. As he was about to knock hard on it, the door opened, she gave him a small smile and said 'Goodnight Draco.'

He smiled and turned around towards his own bedroom door.

They were woken up at four a.m. by a patronus of a cat in their bedrooms. 'Come to the astronomy tower. Immediately.'

Both of them met up in the common room and ran towards the astronomy tower without speaking. Something bad had to have happened for the Headmistress to wake them in the middle of the night. Something she couldn't deal with herself. What they saw was something they couldn't have anticipated.

There was a group of several people standing near the staircase. Professor McGonagall was holding one hand over her mouth the other was holding the hand of a trembling Sybille Trelawney. Next to them was Proffessor Slughorn and Snape, both looking quite still and pale. Next to them were the prefects, one of which was Harry. Hermione looked over to the southern wall where everyone was looking. The wall was splattered with blood and human tissue and on the ground there lay a dismantled body of a girl.. she _guessed_ because the body had a skirt on. It must have been a slytherin, as her clothing was green. An arm lay two feet in the opposite direction as did a foot and further a leg, all bruised and torn. The trunk had ribs protruding through the clothes, the face was distorted beyond recognition under a pile of short dark hair, sticking together with tangy red fluid.

Before Hermione could put together who it was, Draco spoke up first. His voice was so broken and soft that she hardly recognized it.

'Pansy..' he said. He had always found her annoying and irritating, but she was still… Pansy. He had known her practically his whole life.

'I'm sorry everyone to have called you here. It's completely selfish of me to expect you to help us out at a time like this. But please… can you inform your houses? Tell them she passed away peacefully...tell them she fell from the astronomy tower? Make sure no one speaks and no one knows what has occurred here tonight.' her voice was trembling and Hermione saw her proud and strict teacher crumble for the first time in her life. Harry took Hermione by the hand and led her downstairs. She turned around to look at Draco, who was still looking at the scene with horror and wanted to go back to him, to take him away from there, but Harry was pulling her along far too forcefully.

The next days turned chaotic. To say Pansy's parents were devastated was an understatement. They alerted the whole Ministry of Magic to do a complete and thorough search of Hogwarts to find whoever had done this. Word spread round that Pansy hadn't fallen from the Astronomy tower but was found killed. Strict measures were undertaken: all the prefects and heads had to stay in their respectable houses and no one was allowed to wander or patrol at night. Every hallway was protected by at least one auror. The Ministry of Magic also found out about the previous attacks.

The funeral of Pansy had commenced the following Tuesday and everyone had attended. Hermione met up with Harry and the Weasleys had arrived in four: Molly, Arthur along with Ginny and Ron. They were all carrying a white pansy as instructed by the invitation that The Parkinson's sent out. It was a gloomy looking cemetery, she could tell the moment they apparated there. The gates were tall and slightly worn with some dried up greenery growing around it. When they entered the gloomy looking cemetery, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson talking to Draco and his mother. There was something different about the four rather than the group she was in. They all had an air of aristocracy as they were talking. The mourning parents did not shed tears, but were rather composed looking, talking fondly with the blondes, or at least it seemed that way. Mrs. Parkinson put a hand on Draco's shoulder and he was nodding uncomfortably.

'It is such a great loss for your family as well, Narcissa. Even with what's unfortunately happened to Lucius, I was still harboring hope that Pansy and Draco could have created a union, made us all a family.' the woman with slightly curled black hair said, touching the white handkerchief to her eyes to drain her nonexistent tears.

'Yes, we are deeply grief stricken, dear Rose. Deeply. I didn't even have the heart to write Lucius to tell him. He was looking forward to working with Cassius when he came back.' Narcissa bent her head to the side, eyeing the tall man next to Rose. He was looking rather bored and stoic as Hermione noticed, not like someone who had just lost his only daughter.

'Yes, well. When will that exactly be, Narcissa? When is Lucius coming back?' Mr. Parkinson silently asked, not leaving his stoic expression, but looking slightly pleased to taunt the smaller blonde woman.

Narcissa's façade cracked for a moment, but she regained herself, when Draco silently looked at her, taking her hand in his.

'That shouldn't be too long. Father is awaiting his second trial in a month.' Draco forced a smile. 'Our great condolences once again Mr. Parkinson, Mrs. Parkinson. We'd better head on then, there are more guests waiting to speak with you. ' With that the Malfoys left onward towards a small crowd that was gathering.

When Hermione, Harry and the Weasleys walked up to the couple she felt slightly awkward. It seemed that she wasn't the only one. From the coldness radiating between the two families she guessed that the Parkinsons and the Weasleys had not been close friends. Mr. Parkinson eyed Harry, then looked at her condescendingly at Hermione before settling on the ginger family in front of him.

'Arthur, Molly. Such a pleasure to see you've come to share our grief. It is such a tragedy for us, the more…_friends_ come, the better.' Mrs. Parkinson said, forcing a polite smile that ended up looking more like a sneer.

Arthur nodded his head to Cassius and the taller man did the same. They did not exchange words.

'Yes, Rose, we know how hard it is to lose a child. We have lost one due to the war... we hardly recovered from it yet.' Mrs. Weasley smiled sadly.

'But it's not the same, is it now? We lost our **only** daughter and you have… so many.' Molly Weasley was beginning to become red in the face, but her husband stopped her from saying anything, reminding her that the Parkinson's had just lost their daughter and were still grieving. 'Two of your children are here, they should be loved as long as you can, for who knows how much time you have left with them.'

They went along after the Malfoys as Arthur Weasley was having difficulty containing his wife's anger any longer. They saw most of Hogwarts there, the teachers having arrived as well. They all put their white pansies on the grave and Mrs. Parkinson waved her wand to make them all grow on the barren piece of land. Then they all stood in silence. Some were crying. Some looked forlorn. Draco was standing two rows behind Hermione, stealing a glance at the brunette. He wished he could be there to brush his hand against hers to feel her skin. He grimaced when he saw Weasley and Potter take both her hands in theirs.

Hermione briefly looked over her shoulder and noticed the Malfoys. Draco's eyes were looking at the ground and he was looking a bit angry. Then her eyes drifted a little to the left and she saw a girl smiling slightly. It was strange. This was a funeral. When the girl lifted her gaze, Hermione saw the familiar black hair and pug face of... Pansy. She looked alive and breathing and in the middle of her own funeral. Hermione turned her head back to Harry sharply and whispered for him to look back quickly. However Pansy was gone. Harry wondered what Hermione had wanted to show him, but she shook her head. Maybe it had been all in her head.

They left the funeral quite briskly as the Weasleys really didn't feel like staying longer and talking to the Parkinsons any more than necessary.

xxxxxxx

The next few days passed quite calmly. Aurors were still guarding the castle and no attacks had been recorded. However the Ministry didn't come any closer to solving the mystery of Pansy's murder.

It was Friday - Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting at their table eating breakfast.

'Listen to this: "_**Minerva McGonagall failing as Headmistress! Multiple students attacked and tortured and one student brutally killed without informing the Ministry. Is this school really safe for our children? How can we call this Headmistress responsible? What will it take for her to be alarmed- should half the school be killed for her to take notice?**_" How can they write that! She has been going out of her mind to try and find the culprit and so have we, but they write like nothing has been done! I mean for Gryffindor's sakes, the students that were attacked didn't actually receive serious injuries!' Hermione showed Harry the Daily Prophet, waving it about frantically.

'Yes, well Pansy was still killed. It means whoever was practicing unforgivables has gotten a lot better at dark magic. '– Ginny intervened.

'I know, but still... I don't understand why we're no closer to solving this. Harry, do you have any ideas?' Hermione stared at Harry, who looked over slightly towards the slytherin table.

'I'll bet you anything its Malfoy. He was the one that initially led the deatheaters into Hogwarts. I bet he's trying to go in the footsteps of his dark lord.' Ron spat out, looking over at the Slytherin table as well.

'Ronald Weasley! That's completely rude to accuse someone like this. He's head boy. I've been living with him so far and he has done nothing wrong to cause any suspicion.' It did hurt that her friends still considered him the enemy, especially when she so blatantly felt the opposite.

'I'm sorry Mione, but I have to agree with Ron. '- Harry pushed his bacon further on the plate with his fork. 'He has a good cover up. Malfoy has free access to hallways any time of the hour and he has been looking rather uneasy now that they've prohibited nightly patrols. There is also something else.' Harry leant in to whisper so he wouldn't be heard by anyone else. 'When the aurors checked the students, they found a book in Malfoy's pocket. It was Introduction to dark magic I believe. Now Hermione tell me if you don't find that the least bit suspicious?'

The two gingers and one dark haired boy all stared at her and she felt rather uncomfortable. Draco had probably taken that book out of her bag when he knew they would be searched to save her from any trouble. She bit on her lip and lowered her eyes.

'I guess, maybe... it could just have been something he was lending someone.'

'Who'd want to borrow a book about dark magic? _Seriously _Hermione? Why are you defending him?' Ron was rather disgusted with her, but she was downright angry that she could say nothing to prove him innocent without exposing their secret. And if not for herself, for him she swore not to do it until they both decided so. Hermione decided to not speak of it again, so she kept quiet. She looked over at the Slytherin table and spotted Draco. His hair was slightly messy as if he had been running his fingers through it constantly, his eyes were void of the usual glow they had and he had dark bags under them. His finger was nervously tapping on the table and he paid little attention to what Theodore Nott was so eagerly trying to explain to him. He looked worn out.

When Hermione resumed her focus on her own table she heard Harry say '…it's a good thing I was in the room when they were checking wands. I did something to Malfoy's wand. If he does any dark magic at all, I'll be the first to know.'

'Good thinking Harry, I'm sure Malfoy is bound to slip up eventually. Then he'll join his father in Azkaban where he belongs.' Ron was more than approving.

'That's completely unacceptable, Harry.' Hermione said and stormed off out of the Great Hall. She stomped her way through the aurors guarding the doors and she caught sight of ginger hair bouncing up next to her.

'Hermione, wait!'

The brunette turned around, her lips set in a straight line, not wanting to continue the discussion she had just left.

'Remember the talk we had in the library? How did that turn out?'

'What? What do you mean?' Hermione batted her eyelashes nervously.

'You know… you told me you kind of liked... um... DM and you said he liked you? How did that work out?'

The brunette deliberated for a second before she decided that the best option was** not** to tell Ginny how everything developed.

'He told me it had been a joke all along. I wasn't too surprised… I'm fine now really. This has nothing to do with anything... I just don't like innocent people being accused of anything. I mean we had head duties together and he was perfectly okay. Now I'd better head on to Ancient Runes, because I really have to start preparing for that um... assignment today.'

'Right… okay. I'll leave you to it then.' Ginny said, but continued to stare into Hermione's back as she walked away.

Hermione, perhaps for the first time in her life, had told a friend two lies. First about Draco and the second about having to go to a lesson. She didn't have ancient runes for two whole periods. She was actually free to do what she wanted. Hermione found a quiet secluded corner in the library and took out her notes.

She had written down everything she could gather from Draco's book. She found a chapter that intrigued her particularly. It said:

'One of the forms of dark magic is necromancy. It can be used to make pets or minions that are neither dead nor living. It requires an inborn connection with the world beyond. ' But that was all there was to it. "Neither dead nor living" had particularly caught her eye as that was exactly what she thought Bellatrix and Tonks was.

She saw for a moment that Madam Pince went to the bathroom and sneaked into the forbidden section of the library. She had already learned how to undo the wards hiding that particular section during day time. The Golden girl browsed through the shelves until she found a volume on Necromancy. She quickly scanned through the pages: Inferius and… there were a couple pages completely smeared. She could only make out a couple things: "blood strengthens the bond to the world of the living", "extremely loyal" "indestructible if properly taken care of", "difficult to make unless one has aptitude for it", "neither completely dead nor alive". She wondered what was written in the text that was incorrigible, but she had to close the book pretty fast as Madam Pince was walking straight towards the forbidden section. Hermione put the book back and escaped through the shelves.

She barely concentrated on the following lessons as her mind drifted back towards the library and she couldn't wait to discuss it with Harry and Ron.

They were sitting on the couch near the fireplace talking Quidditch when she saw them. Hermione found a seat in front of them and steered the discussion into another direction.

'Harry, I don't think Malfoy's the culprit.'

'Why, do you know who it is?' Harry seemed clearly interested.

'No, but I have to confess something. Remember when I told you I saw Tonks Sunday? Well, I think I saw Bellatrix before that, when Katie Bell was hurt.'

'Hermione, McGonagall already said that Tonks was probably just a hallucination and Bellatrix could have been as well. No one actually saw them both apart from you, did they?'

'Well, no but... I think that someone is bringing back the dead and using them to curse people. That's what I think it is. That's why we can't find the culprit.'

'Oh Mione, Mione, Mione. Please don't take this the wrong way, but maybe you've been reading a little too much into it? Do you even hear what you're saying? Bringing back dead people?' Ron put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her calmly as if she was talking crazy.

Hermione wacked that hand from her shoulder as she was getting quite angry.

'I'm not _reading too much into it_. I read a book in the library about that, it's possible! '

'It may be possible... but I don't think that's likely. I still think it's someone alive and very much at this school that's studying dark arts cursing those people. I mean what purpose would a ghost or whatever is it that you think you saw would do something like that?' Harry was looking back at her intently and she blushed and fought back tears.

'I don't know. I know it sounds unreasonable, but... well what about Snape then?'

'That's quite easy. McGonagall told us herself when we asked that Snape was brought here from his painting by a powerful magical lightning.' Ron sat back on the coach looking relaxed and pleased with himself.

'And besides, Hermione, even if I do believe you, how would that be possible to bring back people from the dead? The only way I know is Voldemort doing it with Horcruxes, but I don't think Bellatrix and especially not Tonks made Horcruxes. I am pretty sure Voldemort was the only one with that kind of knowledge. So I'm not completely saying it's impossible, but let's try to concentrate on something more... palpable?' Harry smiled serenely at her, but Hermione nodded and walked off towards her bedroom.

'Is it just me or is Hermione turning mental?' Ron eyed his best friend and Harry just shrugged. 'First she was defending Malfoy, of all people, if you can call him a person and now she thinks someone is out there raising dead people. Ha! I think the girl just needs to relax.'

Hermione walked into hers, Ginny's and Parvatti's bedroom and waved her wand to slam her door with full force. She was extremely angry. Not only at Harry and Ron, but at herself. She had to agree that her theory about Tonks or Bellatrix sounded a little out there, but that was all she had. She wished they had at least had a civilized discussion with her instead of looking at her like she was Luna Lovegood on a bad day.

'Ugh!' she roared and plopped down on her bed. Hermione had to admit that she missed Draco. They hadn't had a chance to even talk to each other this whole week. At least he would listen to her, not like her friends.

"Thud". She heard a faint knock on her window. She sat up immediately and looked around. "Thud" she heard again. She took her wand in her hand and carefully walked towards the window the sound was coming from. Hopefully it was just an owl with a message, trying to get it. Hermione hid behind the wall near the window a little and opened the window with her wand, then when nothing happened, she stuck out her head to the side looking intently at what was there. She saw a slightly messy head of blonde hair and gleaming grey eyes.

'Hello. Fancy meeting you here at this time.' Draco's smirk tainted his perfect face as he hovered on a broom at her window level.

'Draco! Thank goodness no one else is here or they might have seen you. What are you doing here?" She turned back around towards the door to check for any movement, but she didn't hear anything, relieved she turned back around towards him.

'Oh I accidentally flew here. So lucky of me it was your window. So, how about an evening flight with me, lovely?'

'Yes, you _accidentally_ managed to fly near my window. How very lucky of you indeed.' she looked out the window all the way down and gulped. 'Not really a fan of flying, you know that...'

'It's alright. I'll fly us down somewhere so it's only going to be just a little while.' He extended one hand towards her to join him and she reluctantly stepped on the window sill and on to his broom in front of him where he secured his arm around her waist.

'How did you manage to come here? Weren't you afraid they'd catch you after curfew?'

'Well I though fuck the curfew and fuck their rules. I just felt like seeing you.' He steadied her and sped off into the distance, going even higher up. Her heart did a summersault. She wasn't sure if it was because of the thrill of flying or because of what he had just said.

'Hey, you're flying higher, let us down, now!' She held on even tighter to him and began to tremble.

He laughed and kept hovering high in the air.

'But if we go down, we'll be spotted by the aurors and I'll have lost my precious time with you.' She couldn't argue that and he grinned some more. He bent down and kissed her. When his lips touched her, he felt an electric spark going through his whole body, igniting him with life energy he had been missing recently. When he wasn't with her he felt like he just _**wasn't**_. He could have went on longer like that but she was still tense from the fact that they were a hundred feet in the air. He pulled away to look into her brown eyes.

'How have you been?' Hermione asked him.

'I've been… ok.' the dark circles under his eyes and his tired expression said he had not been okay, but she didn't question him more. Hermione knew he hated talking about feelings. 'Also I hate sharing a bedroom with two other people. Theo snores and Blaise likes to stay up reading.'

'You're such a spoiled brat!' she tried to hit him with her palm on the shoulder, but she trembled and thus grabbed onto him tighter.

'How are you? Weaselbee and Potter not driving you nuts?'

'They're my **friends** we're talking about, so no. It's just annoying that I told them about Bellatrix and Tonks and that I think it has to do with necromancy. They waved it off me being crazy.'

'I don't think you're crazy. Necromancy as any other kind of dark magic is highly possible.' Draco said sternly.

'You think so?'

'There are many things, Hermione, that are far beyond Potter's knowledge. If there are say, thousands of books on good magic, there are at least double as many on dark magic. And if I have learned at least one thing, it is that there are enough crazy psychos out there who'd love to try their hand at them. I'm not as naïve to think that Voldemort was and will have been the only powerful dark wizard out there.'

Hermione thought for a moment and knew that Draco was right. Just because they didn't understand it, it didn't mean that it wasn't possible. Anything was possible. She hugged him and tried to kiss his cheek softly. He turned face and she kissed him on the lips instead.

'Cheeky, aren't you? It's getting late, you should bring me back now.'

'What if I don't want to? I'll be the bad wolf and you will be my prey. I'll never give you back now.'

'Malfoy...' her gaze was turning dark and she took out her wand to look more menacing. He just chuckled.

'You do know that if you curse me, I'll drop you on the ground?' Hermione blushed and looked down, immediately regretting her decision. 'Don't worry, I'll fly you back. One thing before I do though. You know tomorrow is the Match with your house, right?'

'Oh… Quidditch...' –her face turned sour. So now Malfoy wanted to talk about Quidditch as well. Typical. Boys were all the same. 'Yeah?'

'I need something from you' Malfoy stated simply. She looked at him uncomprehending. His eyes were determined and his lips were set in a straight line. When a moment later she said nothing, he continued. 'Something of yours I could use as a good luck charm?'

'Oh!' – she blushed. This was something couples did yet she never had and felt slightly awkward. 'Um I have nothing on me I could give you right now… I'm sorry.'

His silver eyes scanned her and stopped on her left wrist. He pulled up her sleeve and saw a bracelet with wooden beads.

'Take it off' – he instructed and she did as he asked. He rubbed it between his fingers and one bead magically separated without breaking the bracelet. 'Thanks. This should be enough to beat Potter.'

He turned around and sped towards the castle. He however did not stop near the Gryffindor tower, but stopped at the windows of the Girls Bathroom. It appeared deserted inside and she climbed in through the window.

'Speaking of Harry, you know he suspects you are to blame for cursing everyone and for ... Pansy.'

Draco crunched up his face into a scowl.

'Of course he's blaming me. Saint Potter… Well, fuck what he thinks. All that matters is what you think.'

'You shouldn't take it lightly, the Ministry of Magic is eager to find anyone to pin the blame on. They might find Harry's suspicions credible.' She was still leaning out the window looking at him.

'So what?' his voice was rather dismissive.

'I'm just trying to warn you to be careful.'

'I'm not **doing** anything wrong! Stop worrying for fuck's sake. See you at the match tomorrow.' With those words he flew off into the distance, leaving Hermione alone.

She was quite taken aback by his reaction, after all she just wanted him to be careful, what was wrong with that? She hurried off towards the Gryffindor common room looking at the ground in deep thought. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice when she accidentally bumped into someone.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...' she said, but the person brushed a hand on Hermione's shoulder and walked off without saying anything. Hermione only managed to look at the back of the person and saw it was a girl with short black hair wearing a Hufflepuff uniform. The girl seemed familiar, but since she was hurrying off back to her room, she didn't really think about it.

When she entered through the portrait door Harry and Ron immediately looked up at her.

'Wait, weren't you in your room? I swear we saw you go in there... just twenty minutes ago. How did you end up… there?' Ron was looking towards the stairs to their rooms and back at Hermione.

'Don't be silly Ronald, I never went to my room, I went to the girl's bathroom instead. All that pumpkin juice you're drinking must be messing with your head.' with that she went up the staircase. Harry noticed her hair was rather messy and there was a lone leaf stuck in it. He found it slightly curious.

xxxx

Hermione saw herself with Tonks and a woman she didn't recognize. The other two kept guard near the Entrance to the Headmistress office and she whispered the password and entered. The headmistress was nowhere to be seen and it was quite dark.

She illuminated her wand and kept walking around. She walked up to the desk quietly and searched all of the drawers without any success. Then she ascended the staircase and looked at the bookcases only to come up empty handed. Then she descended down the staircase on the other side to briefly catch reflection in the mirror. Pansy Parkinson was staring back at her in a Hufflepuff uniform. Hermione woke up in her bed panting.

**(I have to say the first draft of this chapter had turned out quite boring, so I rewrote half the chapter. That has never happened before. Inspiration is difficult when I feel so down. And I did feel quite down as I seem to have disappointed you with the last chapter. I really hope this one won't disappoint you as much. Please comment, I really need your feelings and ideas on where this is going! Please read and review, I read every review with great glee : ) ) **


	11. Chapter 11: the fallen from the sky

Chapter 11: The fallen from the sky

Blaise was sick of sitting by his best friend's violent mood swings. Draco was either beaming, downright depressed or, as on this particular morning, - extremely angry. The Italian could have ignored his captain on any other particular morning, but as it was, today was the day they had their match with Gryffindor in no more than four hours and he could have lived without the blonde's antics. Being angry before a match was good in a way, it allowed you to use your anger to crush the opposing team, but if his best friend kept up any more of his annoying and noisy food violation by stabbing it loudly with his fork, Blaise was bound to push that fork right through that blonde head thus eliminating their chances of winning.

'Stop being a hormonal bitch Draco and just tell me what the _hell_ is wrong with you.' Blaise said trying to be as calm as possible piercing the slytherin seeker with his glare.

'Nothing. Butt out, Zabini.' The Malfoy boy was positively radiating negative energy as the other housemates were seated at least two seats away from him in all directions. Blaise was the only one brave enough to occupy the seat next to him.

'Yes and the world is one giant apple. Out with it.'

After a very long pause of deliberation Draco raised his head and looked up briefly at the Gryffindor table and then back at his Italian friend.

'She told me to be careful of what I do as **Scarhead** thinks I might have something to do with what happened to Pansy.'

Blaise nearly coughed on his juice.

'That's just sick. How can anyone think that? You've been friends since you were kids. I mean sure she was annoying and all, but how could he think that? He really is a sick little creature.'

'It's not Potter I'm mad at. He always blames me for everything, that's nothing new. It's _her_ warning me about doing anything suspicious that ticked me off. As if I'm the poster boy for prancing around the castle doing dark stuff.'

Blaise laughed. Then Draco glared at him, but he continued to laugh.

'What the hell is so funny?'

'You're angry at her? That's hilarious. Merlin, I'll pee my pants for laughing. Don't you know your little princess by now? She's not blaming you for anything, she's worrying. That's what girls who love do**, they worry**. Of course she doesn't think you'll do anything, she just wants you to be okay. I mean, one worng move on your part- like practically anything: staying out past curfew, experimenting with some spells or anything- the ministry will find it credible that an ex death eater and enthusiastic follower of Voldie is bypassing the rules, they'll paint you in any way they want, just so they can get the villain they so desire. All for the eyes of the public. In a day they will make a you that wanted Pansy dead and went on to curse all those students in school. Don't you see that? It's never about the real truth; it's always about what is best suited for the public.'

Draco's anger dissipated as he thought for a moment. Blaise was right. He felt so stupid for getting angry at Hermione and for not thinking about that. He did break the rules by flying out to her, that might have been caught and got tangled in a bad mess.

'Well I feel like such a prick now...' he muttered looking up at the Gryffindor table to catch Hermione talking with her friends, looking a little down.

'You are a prick. I've told you before. Moving on, are you now going to stop scratching your plate with that fork? it's turning my brain to mush.'

Draco smirked and put his fork down. He got up from his seat and looked over at Blaise.

'Where in Salazar's name are you going in such a hurry?'

'To inconspicuously apologize to her. Care to join me?'

'I think I'll stay and finish my meal finally in silence. Go on, remember to tell her in front of everyone what a prick you are.' Draco grimaced at Blaise but walked off nonetheless. A piece of parchment fell from his pocket and Blaise inspected it. Then he rolled it up and put it in his pocket reminding himself to return it to Draco later.

Hermione was sitting near Ginny and Harry was seated next to a very queasy looking Ron opposite of them. It was quite early for breakfast so Hermione was surprised when her best friends joined her at the table. Not many were seated. Gryffindors in general tended to party Friday evenings and thus sleep a little longer Saturday mornings, but since it was Quidditch day of what Ron called 'the most important match' of the year, some of them, at least the players, had managed to get up earlier or had not managed to sleep much due to the excitement of the match. Many of the seats around them were still empty, as were at the other house tables. She spotted Draco immediately when he came, but he was still sporting that condescending look he had when she asked him to be careful. What was wrong with being careful? What was it with boys and their lack of self-preservation? She just didn't want anyone to jump to conclusions when it came to Draco. He was easily labeled as the bad guy even if he was innocent in a situation. Her friends, for example, had always labeled him as the bad guy. But living with him and getting to know him threw off all labels she might have had of him. He wasn't the label he was being stuck with.

Her mood had not been the best this morning. There was the fact that her boyfriend was mad at her for no logical explanation whatsoever and had not once looked her way after being seated at his table. Also her friends indulging in that awful thing they called sports was another. She had tried to point out that Quidditch has more sports injuries than any other sport known to the Wizarding World. She even pointed out some statistics in the book Ron got from Harry on one Christmas, but she was laughed at and called names so after a couple of tries she relented to just being sulky on the day of the match. She'd hope, she'd pray and hopefully they'd be okay.

Straight out of the blue Draco Malfoy walked up to their table and sat down next to her right, smiling a little. She looked at him with wide eyes as did her other friends. Ginny even bent down from her left to make sure if it really was the blonde slytherin seated next to them.

'You know this is the Gryffindor table, right?' Ginny was the first to speak and he flashed her a brilliant smirk before answering.

'I know.'

Ron was the second to regain his senses. 'Then what the bloody hell do you think you're doing over here? Get your filthy existence off of this table.' His face was getting red and his prominent freckles were fading.

'Technically, I'm not on the table _Weasley_, I'm in front of it if that's the only problem you have.'

'You know what he meant, _Malfoy_. What do you want? Spit it out, before I hex you out of this place.'

Draco sighted and put both of his hands down and under the table. He caught one of Hermione's in his own and gently rubbed it. She looked at him in amazement, but he didn't look her way once.

'I'm sorry you lot have to go up against us today. I feel obligated, given my gracious heart, to offer to use my second best players, just so you guys do not lose that much and maybe look good while playing? I am so sorry that you have to go up against us, so sorry. 'He squeezed Hermione's hand each time he said 'sorry' which made Hermione slightly curious. Ron stood up from his seat with full force.

'The hell! Bring your best team, we'd still crush you any day, any time! Right, Harry?' Harry nodded and glared at Malfoy. Ginny sighted and looked up at Draco, being the most composed one.

'I'm tired of your nonsense. Why don't you just bugger off. You're a prick.' The fiery headed girl narrowed her eyes at the blonde and he smirked once more and stood up, dropping Hermione's hands in the process. The head girl followed his hand with her eyes and saw a wooden bead on a leather bracelet on his left hand.

'So I've been told. I was being nice and you refused, so bugger on you. Enjoy losing, Gryffindorks.' With that he swiftly exited through the main door, leaving an enraged group of Gryffindors and Hermione, who pondered if all that display had been his way of telling her 'sorry'.

xxxxxxx

Draco stood with his team near the entryway towards the field. His teammates were still putting on their uniforms, chatting excitedly. The air was a little chilly but there was no snow on the ground and little bits of grass were showing. Spring was coming a little earlier it seemed, but he could have cared less. The winter cold didn't bother him much for he quite liked the chill.

He watched as the seats of the observers filled themselves. Their current head of the house Slughorn, or the old bald kook as some liked to call him, was chatting up McGonagall. The observers had clearly chosen sides. The left was mostly comprised of students wearing green with a few exceptions. And the right side was mostly red and yellow. He spotted Loony Lovegood wearing a ridiculous looking hat that resembled a lion sitting near Longbottom. Then he spotted Hermione sitting among her other teammates, looking quite squeamish. She was strategically sitting in the middle wearing something blue. It was her way of showing him her support even if she couldn't go into the cheering slytherin crowd. Something in his heart stirred.

'Wondering who she's going to root for?' Blaise appeared beside him, watching the stands as well.

'I don't know what you're talking about Blaise.' Draco swiftly turned around, motioning for Blaise that there were far too many listeners present and walked over towards the wall where his broom was located.

'Sure you don't. Just stay focused on the game, captain.'

'That should be your main concern. I'm always focused.' Malfoy took the broomstick in his left hand and exhaled. His heart was racing and he could see her nervous face when he closed his eyes. He was never nervous at Quidditch. Determined, _yes_. Angry, _hell yes_. Being nervous was a first.

'Says the guy who has lost the Snitch to Potter every single time.' Theo grinned besides him and received a worthy glare from Draco.

'I see we're going to have to use out back up beater today. Blaise, get Joanna, will you? Theo is going to get all of his limbs broken, so he can't go.' Cold steel eyes and that slightly menacing grin told Theo he meant business.

Theodore Nott fell to the floor and hugged Draco's shins with both arms.

'Please let me play Captain. I won't talk shit anymore, just let me play, you're the best captain there is so please?'

'Stop getting your drool all over my pants. You can play already, sheesh.'

Blaise smiled thinking that Draco was going soft because of Hermione. Before he would have at least hexed Theo to give him a warning, now he relented without doing anything. Granger's softheartedness was rubbing off on his blonde best friend.

They heard the whistle and the team went out into the field, the Gryffindors coming out from a doorway nearby, Harry being in front, just as Draco was the first one to enter the field of his team. Madam Hooch told them to shake hands and reluctantly they did.

'Ready to lose the match, Malfoy?' Harry challenged.

'Ready to lose a limb, Potter?' Draco smirked and Harry smiled back at him, letting go of his hand. Everyone mounted their brooms and ascended into the air. The game began.

Hermione was quite lonely as all of her best friends were currently engaging in what they loved most. She hated that Draco too was a Quidditch player. That meant she had one more person to worry about getting hurt. Hermione was soon joined by Luna and Neville, who was apparently just dragged along by her as he did not care much for Quidditch either.

The brunette looked at the field. Blaise had made a goal and Ron was as red as a tomato, clearly very angry at himself. Ginny almost got hit by a bludger, but quickly maneuvered around it. Hermione wondered how someone could be so agile while being on a broom. It was impossible for her.

Draco was yelling at his keeper to stay focused as the fifth year Slytherin kept fidgeting back and forth between the goal loops. He blocked the first goal, but Ginny and the other Gryffindor chaser managed to make the next three land. Draco yelled at the boy once again before briefly turning to look at her. Their eyes met for a moment and she swore she saw a spark there before he turned back towards the field. Harry had already caught sight of the Snitch and was chasing it. Draco soon followed behind, his green robes fluttering in the wind.

Hermione briefly looked at the stands. Her side was all Gryffindor colors, the people cheering excitedly. The other side held mostly green with five exceptions. Four Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff. Her eyes fell on that particular Hufflepuff. It was the girl she had bumped into yesterday. When she turned her face to the side Hermione's eyes widened. No, it was probably her mind playing tricks on her. Then the girl turned her head once again. It was far enough but Hermione could swear that the girl in Hufflepuff clothing was none other than Pansy. She even had the birthmark on her neck that had caught her eye when they discovered her mangled body. But it couldn't be. It couldn't. Hermione shook her head and rubbed her eyes, turning her attention back at the field. Draco and Harry had both appeared in the field, following the Snitch. She turned her head back to the stands and the girl was gone. She concurred that it must have been her imagination. Pansy had been a slytherin and was sitting with a lot of slytherins, yet none had reacted. **None**. So it could not in the world have been Pansy.

'Both the Gryffindor seeker Potter and the Slytherin seeker Malfoy are following the snitch! I think it might be a short game today guys! Let's see if Mystical Potter can win his house another match! He's flying brilliantly as always!' the commentator roared.

Draco heard the commentator, but was not distracted by it. What did distract him was that Potter was definitely not flying as he usually did. Potter was a very reckless flier. He dove at angles which were quite difficult if you weren't feeling very stable on your broom. Yet today the boy wonder was a little shaky and didn't take risks as he usually did. Maybe his little joke at their table had shaken him? Nah, couldn't have. It was Potter, not Weasley, he was the level headed one of the duo, if that was possible. They rose up into the air as the little Golden ball tried to avoid them by going higher. Draco was a second away from Potter and he hoped he'd extend his hand towards the Snitch faster than his opponent could. Draco and Harry both extended their hands towards the snitch. To his great dismay, the Gryffindor's fingertips touched the ball first and Draco could feel his resolve crumble . Yet to his great surprise Harry immediately pulled away and fell from his broom as if he had been pushed by a brutal force. Draco caught the snitch and tried to dive after Harry, but was already too late as Potter lay in an unnatural position on the ground, his shoulder appeared to be dislocated and he was wearing a handful of painful bruises, along with a bloodied knee. Any other day he would have felt happy to see Potter hurt, but he couldn't feel anything but shock. What had happened back there?

Madam Hooch was the first one near Potter as was the rest of his team. Draco stood silently holding the snitch a few feet away, still too shocked to move. His team mates landed next to him to congratulate him, but he didn't respond in any way.

'Oh dear, Potter, Potter! Stay with me boy, I'll get you to the hospital wing. Did anyone see what happened? Anyone?'

No one had seen anything except Harry and Draco chasing the Snitch, then they disappeared behind a cloud and then Harry was falling and Draco sped down with him holding the Snitch. Many insisted Draco had pushed Harry off the broom to win, but the slytherins defended their captain saying there was no proof of that. When asked what happened, Draco told them that they had both reached for the Snitch, but Harry must have slipped on his broom and fell. After catching the snitch he had tried to catch up to Potter and save him, but he didn't manage in time. That did nothing to soothe the enraged gryffindors. Not only had they lost the match, but their prized seeker and war hero Harry Potter was seriously injured and would probably need to spend a few weeks in the hospital.

Draco regained his senses when Harry Potter was being put on a carrier. Hermione silently approached him and looked troubled.

'Are _you_ okay?' he couldn't help but feel slightly emotional. Her best friend was being taken to the hospital yet she found a moment to come to him and ask **him** if he was okay. It was so unnatural and sweet that he almost hugged her right then and there. Before he could say anything though, Blaise appeared next to him and dragged him by his arm out of the field.

'Not here, Granger.' Blaise had told the brunette and she nodded and joined the pack following the carrier. 'Come on, don't just stand here like an idiot. Let's go.' Draco was thankful someone was pulling him somewhere for he didn't know if he could move on his own. Potter had been hurt _bad_ and he still had no clue why.

'What really happened?' Blaise inquired when they were alone.

'We were both reaching for the snitch and when Potter touched it... he... he was blown away by a strong force. I have no idea... what... or who could have done it. I tried to reach him in time but I... I didn't.' His fingers were still shaking a little as he inspected the golden ball in his hand.

'Maybe someone cursed him from the crowd? We should ask if anyone saw anything later on. Don't blame yourself, when did you ever care what happens to Potter?'

Draco creased his brows and thought. 'I don't…' But the fact remained that he had wanted to do something so Harry Potter wouldn't get hurt. The impulse had just been there.

'Forget it. Right now you have a celebration to attend to. They're calling you Malfoy the dark Prince or something. At least that's what I've heard the girls say.' Blaise put an arm around his blonde mate's shoulder and led him toward their common room. 'By the way, you dropped this before practice.' Blaise pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket.

'That's my father's letter. Thanks… did you read it?'

'I'm sorry, I did. It fell and unrolled itself. Anyway, I thought it was strange.'

'You did, did you? Me too, I kept telling mother that no sane person would write such bull unless it had been completely changed by the ones controlling the prison mail.' Draco rolled up the letter and took it in his other hand. 'Better bring it back to the dorm or I'll lose it again.'

'No, that's not it. What I found strange is that one letter of the word error looks like an 'n' not an 'r'.' Blaise took the letter from Draco's hand and unrolled it. 'See?' he pointed out to the first r and it did indeed seem like an n if you inspected it carefully.

Draco looked at it again. 'Enror...' – he silently kept repeating until they were back in the castle.

The party at slytherin house was indeed great as expected. Slughorn had come in at one time to make sure everything was done according to the rules, but he was easily swayed by the female population to overlook the firewhiskey bottles laying everywhere and the skimpily dressed girls or the loud music in the background. Draco had played his part well of a happy and cocky winner, but he desperately needed to take his mind off of the whole Potter incident. The party hadn't done it. So he thought the only thing he could do, was go somewhere to investigate the whole thing with the letter. If there was a place he could find some information, it was the most famous pub in Knockturn Alley.

He could call it nothing but luck that the aurors guarding his pathway were also taking part in the party and were too busy to notice him slipping into the dark hallway. He knew a secret passageway near the slytherin entrance to Diagon Alley which was also very practical for him. Heck, every older slytherin knew that passage way. It was used as a means to smuggle booze into their dorm, every slytherin knew that and kept secret; as Hogwarts, like any other magical school had strict rules on underage drinking. Although someone smart had once said 'rules are meant for breaking'- that someone must have been a slytherin.

Draco easily reached the passage behind a painting of a man reading a book. The painting didn't bother to react but simply opened when Draco whispered the correct password. He had abandoned his uniform and transfigured his clothing to be not so eye catching. No doubt a slytherin Quidditch uniform would catch unwanted suspicion in Knockturn alley and if anyone was to report him being there in the evening of a school year, his ass would fly right out of Hogwarts before he could finish the damn year. No, black robes were less revealing where he was going. He passed the busy buzz of Diagon alley and entered Knockturn alley where he stood in front of his destination- a pub called 'the Red Horse'. If one wanted to find someone, this was the place to go to.

Draco lowered the hood of his cloak and observed the crowd. He was sitting in a far corner and had ordered a glass of firewhiskey, but he wasn't drinking it. It was simply a cover. He wanted to blend in as much as possible. This kind of place attracted all sorts of people, but he was looking for someone specific. Before entering the pub he had tried to use a charm he recently learned. He rather hoped it would work. It was supposed to make him hear everything ten times better. However, even as he tried to concentrate, he could hear the usual rumbling of the crowd and nothing else. It was annoying as hell. He cursed under his breath. How the hell was he supposed to find someone even if he wasn't sure what he was looking for? The blonde took a sip of his drink and it pleasantly burned his tongue. He spotted one of the barmaids to be rather young and rather tired. She was getting looks by the rest of the men at the bar, but all of them were rather lacking in the looks department or had triple to compensate with age. Draco walked up towards the bar with his glass in hand and sat down in front of her.

'Hey there.' he said giving her a small smirk. The girl lit up immediately.

'Hello, what can I get you?' she took steps towards her client while still polishing a glass with a towel.

'I'm good, thanks.' he raised his glass into the air. 'I came here to tell you that I heard a couple of guys talking about you before I entered. They said someone named Enror told them you were an easy girl and so they were planning to ambush you after work. I just wanted to tell you to be careful since I don't want such a pretty thing to get hurt.'

The girl's eyes widened and she immediately nodded.

'…and by the way do you happen to know who this guy Enror is? I think I should teach him a lesson about calling girls _**that**_.'

'Oh yes, he comes here every few days. He's tall, has short brown hair and usually buys firewhiskey in boxes, so you can't miss him. Thanks for the info, stranger.' She winked at him and he wanted to roll his eyes at her. If he had been a killer intending to find a specific target she could have waved her hand and even recommended the secluded spot for the job.

The girl soon got busy with work but not before slipping him a paper with her name and her working hours. The drink had been on the house too. The blonde boy didn't have to wait too long. His target appeared at a quarter to nine. It was a tall muscular man in his mid-twenties with short brown hair and a rather forgetful face. He ordered 20 bottles of firewhiskey, paid and turned to leave, carrying the box with the bottles. Draco stood up from his seat and followed him out.

A corner, a house, another corner, another street, another house, another corner. No one walked like that unless they knew they were being followed. Damn, he wasn't careful enough. Draco took out his wand and held it at breath length. He stopped and hid just as the man turned around after walking around in circles for twenty minutes. He must have thought he lost his tail as he quickly entered an ordinary looking building in the next minute. Draco waited a moment and slowly walked up to the porch of the house. It was the same looking as any other house on the street. The building was grey and brown and a tad old. He checked the house for wards or anything that would harm him if he stepped closer. There was nothing guarding it. He stepped on the porch and knocked on the door.

A small girl of about 9-10 years with strawberry blond hair opened it.

'Hello mister. How can I help you?' her small lips puffed up and her blue eyes sparkled. Draco let out a breath he was holding.

'Can I speak to someone older, your father perhaps?' He leant in and tried to smile to seem perfectly casual.

'Daddy? Of course, follow me, he's in the living room.' She motioned for him to enter and he followed.

'You know you should really not just let anyone in little girl, that could be dangerous for you.' He whispered but the girl stopped and turned around smiling.

'_**Actually**_, it was your stupid move to enter my home, _little boy_.' The girl said and immediately Draco crashed to the floor with his hands bound behind his back and his right cheek crushed against the oak floorboards. A wand was pressed to his back and his own was lying somewhere out of reach. He wanted to mentally smack himself on the head for letting a preschooler outsmart him.

'John, how could you be so careless to let him follow you home? Now what do I do with this idiot?' The girl was obviously annoyed. He noted she spoke with an Irish accent.

'I'm sorry nan, I thought I lost him. He was following me out of the bar, it won't repeat itself.' So the brown haired man was the one immobilizing him. Okay, there were only two of them. If they'd try anything, he would only have him to fight, that was a good chance of him escaping this situation. His wand lay a meter further on his left. If only he could reach it.

'It's okay, don't worry.' her voice was kind, but then she walked over towards him and bent her head to inspect his face. 'Such a pretty face you have too, what do you want with John?'

'I think my father sent me here. I don't know why...'

'Your father… wait.. John, take off his hood.' as his pale blond hair became visible, she gasped and took a second look at him. 'Dear Merlin, so you're a Malfoy! Never knew he had a son, really. And you have his hair, your eyes are probably your mother's though. Let him go, John, he's not an enemy.'

The taller man staggered. 'Wait, really nan? Are you sure we can trust him?' She rolled her eyes and the binds on Draco loosened. He was able to stand up, but he grabbed his wand before that nonetheless. The man called John left them to go elsewhere. The girl told Draco to follow him. They entered what seemed like a drawing room. The doors shut themselves and she calmly sat down on an armchair. He preferred to stand.

'Well, my dear boy, what does Lucius' boy need from me? I hope he didn't send you to say hello after all this time.'

'I don't think _a little girl_ has the right to call me '**boy**'. And how the hell can you know my father? You're what - _nine_?'

The girl began to laugh wholeheartedly. The blonde boy was becoming angry.

'I'm a lot older than I look boy. First of all, your father and I have a history. Back when _Voldemort_ was still at large (he noted the way she twisted the word on her tongue), your father saved me. He had been ordered by his master to capture me so I could serve him. I was weak at that time and wouldn't have escaped. Your father let me go. And that was still when you weren't even born. '

'Sorry, but that sounds nothing like my father.' Malfoy grimaced and kept his wand in his hand firmly.

'Oh it wasn't his immediate choice, but nonetheless he is the reason I am here today.'

'Wait... if I wasn't born then, it is more than seventeen years ago. How old... are you?' His eyes widened as he scanned the small girl's body. It was the perfect image of a preschooler.

'It's not polite to ask a lady her age.' she pouted. 'I told you before I'm a lot older than I look. John there is my great grandchild.' The girl was rather done with talking about her age so she addressed Draco once again. 'So why are you here, exactly?'

Malfoy took out his letter and showed her the part where he made out the word Enror. She inspected it and smiled.

'This was sent from Azkaban, was it not? The staff there is awfully lacking if he managed to send such a magically induced letter. Here, let me make the whole letter clearer for you.' She waved her hand over it a few times and the words changed into a completely different message. 'How about you give it a go now?'

Draco Malfoy took his father's letter and read it over silently.

"_**My dear Narcissa and Draco,**_

_**Someone from Hogwarts is contacting the deatheaters here. They gain access through the dark mark. Be careful. Don't trust anyone. Find Julia Enror, ask her about blood magic. Remind the old bint she owes me. **_

_**Respectfully, **_

_**Lucius Malfoy."**_

'What a rude boy he still is.' Draco raised a pale eyebrow. The Lucius this woman/girl knew clearly wasn't the same man he was raised by. 'The 'dark mark' he mentioned is the tattoo that Vodemort branded all of his minions with?'

Draco rolled up his left sleeve. The snake almost moved on his skin as she inspected it between her fingers.

'Ah you poor boy, Lucius got you caught up in it as well huh? Oh you poor dear. You know they are practically immovable those nasty things. '

'Yes, I _noticed_.' Draco cringed and rolled down his sleeve again. 'So what is this about blood magic?'

'Blood magic is a general term for one branch of the dark arts. Blood is one of the substances in the wizard with the strongest magical potential. It can be used in a number of ways. One of them would be to access a wizard's thoughts and maybe even influence them if there is an open blood connection. That would be something like this dark mark here. Blood was spilt when creating it right?'

The blonde boy silently nodded.

'That means someone who can do blood magic can control you through your mark. Access your thoughts, maybe even influence your actions.' the girl became very stern.

'Wait, wouldn't the creator of the mark... as in Voldemort... be the only one able to connect to his marks?'

'Usually yes, unless the creator has died. Then anyone potentially could.'

'Fuck.' Draco sat down on the chair finally, looking a little vacant.

'So your father says he has been contacted in Azkaban through the mark. Have you been contacted in any way?' The girl walked over to Draco and looked at him sternly.

The boy lifted his gaze and looked at the strawberry blonde.

'Yes. It was a couple of times. The person spoke to me in dreams... that person also brought back a ghost from my dream. Is that also a form... of blood magic?'

The girl walked a step back and lowered her gaze, only to appear smiling again.

'Um, yes. That's possible…' although she seemed deep in thought and kept glancing back at the bookcase.

'Can you remove the mark? Is it possible to escape this whole situation?'

'I told you before it was immovable. Although... I can sever the connection through the mark, if not completely, then at least in part. 'Draco appeared interested.

'Fine, do it, I'll pay you whatever you want. I don't want some psycho controlling me!' The girl laughed and told him to extend his left arm and he did as instructed. She took out her wand, muttered a spell and a small triangle appeared near the snake, seeming like a part of the mark.

'That's it?' he rubbed his forearm as it stung from the fresh magic.

'Yes, it's enough to disrupt the connection, if only partly. Okay now, off you go, I have a lot of things to do! Off on your way and I hope to never see you again, my debt to Lucius is repaid. Now, scoot boy!' With that he felt being pulled out of the house by a strong force and the door shut itself. When he tried to bang on it, no one answered. He opened the door reluctantly, but the house was completely empty inside – no furniture or people were there. It was so odd he blinked and quickly assessed his left forearm – the small triangle was still there, marking his brief and strange encounter real. Draco decided not to think about it and he hurried off back to the castle.

**(Not reviewing, eh Lovelies? Well that just made me extremely sad. I'm still going to write though even if no one likes it ;) Or maybe I won't. I haven't had any time to write or any inspiration recently, so this chapter came out way later than usually. Still I hope it is satisfactory. Please read and review! Your comments and guesses to what could happen sometimes give me the most incredible ideas. By the way Julia and John Enror are fictional characters I made up, so I hope you don't mind. Till later!)**


	12. Chapter 12: the irresistible

Chapter 12: The irresistible

Dark. Everywhere. Arms hurting. Trying to move them, can't – bound and raised. Feet stuck to the floor as well. Head throbbing on the left side just above the temple. Can't remember how I got here or where I am. Great. The last thing I remember is leaving the passage and then… here. Aah, headache, slight memory loss, bound. No need to be a genius to figure out what happened. The question remains – who. _Shit_. Draco slowly opened his eyes and some light entered his vision.

'Morning, sunshine.' came an older male voice. 'Nice of you to finally join us. Hope you had an enjoyable nap?' The perpetrator came into the light wearing a sickening smile. He had another friend, who kept silent, but his tall muscular build spoke volumes for him. They were wearing auror clothing.

'That's debatable.' Draco replied. 'I'd much rather continue it in my bed, if you would mind letting me go.'

'Nice try, _Malfoy_, but you're staying put. I've been waiting a long time to have you bound like this and I'm not going to simply let you go now.' The shorter auror with messy brown hair and a beard came incredibly close towards his face. 'Say Malfoy, what were you doing out past curfew?'

Oh so that was what this was about. Damn, he should have been more careful.

'I didn't know you had fantasies about me, but I have to be honest with you- I don't swing the other way.' The shorter auror became angry, raised his wand and muttered a spell. Draco could feel his abdomen beginning to hurt badly. 'Answer the question, _scumbag_.' – the auror spat out.

'Needed to clear my head. The party was getting too loud for my liking. Just a stroll. That's nothing to get me bound and hurt for is it?' His tone was perfectly calm as he moved his torso a little to check if he still had his wand behind his belt. He felt nothing, but at least the pain was gone.

'Looking for this? I'm sorry, but we had to confiscate it. We know you're a deatheater. Couldn't have you cursing us now, could we?' the muscular one said, holding his wand to prove his point. Draco growled. Of course the aurors would be prejudiced. It wasn't just the bloody school, it was everyone. Hermione had been right on so many levels. If they reported him to the ministry, he'd be in trouble. He only had one way out of this and he hoped he'd get his chance.

'Now that you know you won't escape, I repeat the question: why were you out past curfew? Trying to find someone to curse or maybe slaughter? Like the Parkinson girl?'

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In the infirmary Hermione had felt restless. Harry had been hurt pretty badly, but thanks to the hands of a very capable Madam Pomfrey, he would be healed in a matter of a week. She **should** have been utterly and terribly worried about Harry. He could have died! Yes, that's what she should have been thinking about. Rather than that, her mind was preoccupied with a blonde. She had been keeping her eye on them and she had seen Draco speeding after Harry, trying to save him. Draco had not hurt Harry. He was even trying to save him. Her heart beat in her chest wildly at the thought. Draco had tried to save her best friend, despite their history, despite his animosity towards the chosen one. It was that thing that finally left her wondering if this thing they had was not developing into something more. She felt like she couldn't breathe if she didn't know he was okay. Especially when he wasn't with her. After they were separated she often caught herself thinking about him, remembering his smile and his clear silver eyes. It took her a while to understand, but after the match, after that one thing where Draco had tried to save Harry, Hermione could no longer deny- she had fallen in love. And with Malfoy of all people. No, it was Draco now. The name that echoed softly in her mind.

The longer she stayed by Harry's side, pretending to listen to what Ron and Ginny were talking to Harry about, the more she felt like she needed to see Draco. It was a desperate feeling she could not get rid of until she was standing in front of him. So she left. The head girl made an excuse and rushed towards the corridor, trying to move about unnoticed. She knew the slytherins were celebrating, so he'd surely be there.

The brunette entered the slytherin common room after muttering the correct password (which she had known because she was the head girl) and was met by a lot of curious and disapproving looks. Hermione could not spot the blonde head she was seeking, so she settled on finding the next best thing.

'Blaise, have you seen Malfoy somewhere? I need to talk to him. Erm…head's business.'

'Are you barmy Granger? We're celebrating a victory here, let the man rest from work! Come on, don't be a nag.' Theodore Nott said in a raspy voice that reeked of alcohol. She managed a polite smile as he walked away and wondered if she should report them drinking, but then again that would mean her having to punish herself for walking in the halls past curfew. Damn it all.

'As a matter of fact… I haven't. He's supposed to be the star of the show, but he's gone conveniently missing for about two hours now.'

'Draco went missing and you stayed here and did nothing?' Her voice was filling with panic and she tried to tone it down as not to cause a commotion.

'Hey, I thought he was with...' he leaned in so only she could hear. 'well with you. So I didn't really go looking. I know about you two.'

Hermione blushed but then remembered the problem at hand. Draco was missing. He could have gotten cursed...or _worse_... She dreaded to think of the latter, but the image of Pansy's dismantled body came into clear view.

'Oh God's please no.' her eyes were filling with tears and she was still in a room full of celebrating slytherins. 'Blaise, please check all the slytherin dungeons for him and I'll scout the castle.' He nodded and she shot out through the common room door. Her mind was entangled in a worried frenzy. If something happened to Draco, God help whoever had hurt him.

Her first visit was the Gryffindor boys' dormitory where she quietly slipped in while Neville and Dean continued to sleep. She rummaged through Harry's trunk and found the two things she needed: the invisibility cloak and the Marrauder's map. She quietly closed the door and unfolded the map.

'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.' Hermione whispered and her eyes searched the map frantically for the one name. She spotted "Draco Malfoy", put on the cloak and darted out into the corridor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'I see we'll have to resort to other methods to make you talk.' He pulled away and pointed his wand at Draco's right arm. 'Let's start by taking off that lying death eater skin off of you. Maybe a good person is actually inside of that horrible shell.' The man began to laugh as he drew his wand to the right and Draco shut his eyes. He could literally feel as his skin was being ripped off of his flesh in an agonizing slow pace. When the feeling was repeated in multiple places all over his body, he screamed. This only drove the auror to grin.

'Change your mind now, Malfoy?' Draco only groaned and opened his eyes slowly, but said nothing. Blood was seeping through his clothes in multiple places and was falling onto the floor in small perfect red drops.

'Is that all you've got? ' Draco surprisingly managed a chuckle underneath his agony. He needed to play them and get them exactly where he wanted.

'Why you little fuck...' The shorter one was raging, but the other one put a hand on his shoulder calming him down and stepped up front near Draco. "That's it..a little closer" Draco thought and concentrated.

'We have been watching you.' the man said. 'It was a matter of time before you slipped up, knowing your history you were the most probable culprit. It will be my pleasure to extract this information out of you, even if I have to beat you to death with it.' He slowly stepped even closer towards Draco and the blonde smiled.

'Sorry, but that will have to be put on hold.' he smirked and in a moment he had his wand in his hand. The blonde freed himself quickly and petrified the taller one. Then before the shorter one could react, he did the same to him as well. He hovered above them and obliviated them both of the incident. Then for good measure, he kicked the shorter one several times in the ribs. He breathed out and looked around. No doors. Where the hell was he?

A silent cry echoed in the darkness. Who was here?

'Who are you? Show yourself!' He shouted, turning around, his wand on guard. No one answered. He tried to scan his surroundings for any movement, but it was dark and calm.

'Draco!' he heard a cry a little closer to him. The voice was feminine. Draco turned around again where the voice was supposedly coming from, but no one was there.

'Who the hell are you? Were are you?' he shouted, but no one answered.

'Draco, wake up, please wake up!'- a familiar voice echoed again.

'What… Hermione? Where are you? I _**am**_ awake, how can I hear you, but not see you?'

'Wake up, just please open your eyes!' He lowered his wand and concentrated and in a moment he was lying on the ground, looking at very familiar worried hazel orbs. He was lying on the carpet of the Hogwarts hallway, breathing heavily.

'Hermione..?' the blonde whispered and touched her right cheek softly. She looked so beautifully livid, her wide eyes starring at him, looking for answers. He felt a want to tell her just how beautiful she looked, but decided it would be weird right now.

He continued to stare at her, but she averted her gaze embarrassed.

'Um... are you alright?' she whispered, taking him in, scanning for injuries.

'I'm fine.' He tried to stand up, but his feet trembled. His body was aching all over.

'Wait, are you really alright? What happened?' Hermione steadied him, but he looked like he was still in pain. 'Can you walk? I'll get you to Madam Pomfrey immediately, come on.'

'No, not going to Old Pomfrey. I'm **fine**.'

'Stop being stubborn, you're obviously hurting, you're crunching up your face in pain, do you think I can't see that?' Hermione was becoming angry.

'If you want to see if I'm hurt then you can, but I'm not going to the infirmary, that's final.'

Hermione thought for a moment, but decided she could deal with that.

'Fine. But I'm not taking you to the Slytherin common room or my Gryffindor one, we'll try our head's dorms instead. Oh and conjure a message for Blaise, he's been looking for you as well.'

Draco waved his wand and a paper spider formed and went along towards the slytherin dorms. They went the rest of the way in silence, refusing to look at each other stubbornly.

'Melodia pulchra.' Hermione whispered and they both entered. Draco was trying to contain himself, but every now and then she'd notice his lower lip twitch and his eyes close for a brief moment and then he'd lean more against her. 'What did you write to Blaise?'

'Fine'. He simply said as he let her go and slumped onto the armchair.

'You wrote 'fine'? Couldn't you have been more elaborate?'

'That's the only thing he needs to know.' He sighted and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Hermione was staring back at him intently.

'What?' He couldn't fathom the uncomfortable expression on her face. She remained silent for a moment, before whispering: "Take off your shirt, I need to see what's wrong with you."

Draco chuckled and then began to openly laugh. Hermione blushed even more and stood up abruptly.

'Shy now are you? After I've walked into the kitchen countless times half naked trying to seduce you?'

'You did that on purpose! Why you slimy little cockroach! I have the right mind you leave you here suffering and lock you up so you can't leave!' Hermione punched him in the arm and he grinned.

'Okay sorry, sorry! I'll be good now. See, I'm taking off my shirt?' he dropped his cloak and began to unbutton his shirt. Hermione was blushing the entire time, but she tried to hide it. Draco composed his face into a serious one as he dropped his shirt on the ground. Hermione pushed her chair closer towards him and inspected him. The first thing she noticed was that his mark was inflamed again. The skin was red and appeared sore to the touch. She gently extended her fingers and glazed his skin there briefly which caused him to flinch.

'What happened? Where were you? Blaise told me he didn't see you for a couple of hours.'

The blonde deliberated for a moment what he should tell her. The less she knew, the safer for her he figured. If he could keep her out of the whole blood magic and someone controlling his mind and possibly his actions thing until he knew more, then he bloody well would.

'I was walking around the castle a little… to clear my head. Then I don't remember- the mark must have been inflamed again and I lost consciousness. Had horrible dreams in the meantime… can still feel the pain in my body as if it had been real.' He noticed she scrunched up her face as if trying to decipher if he was telling her the truth. If she doubted him, she didn't say anything.

Hermione traced the lines of the muscles of his right arm with her fingertips gently, inspecting for any injuries, holding her wand in the other hand to trace any magic. Then she gently touched his chest and his abdomen, noticing his skin beginning to catch goose bumps. She avoided looking at his eyes as her breath was getting stuck in her throat. It was difficult to remember to breathe and touch his perfect abdomen at the same time.

'Does it still hurt?' she silently asked, not looking up at him.

'Yes.' he mumbled, tracing his gaze over her fingertips, the ones that touched him so carefully and softly, anticipating the next touch.

'I don't see anything wrong with you. But I'll try something if you don't mind... I have a numbing cream that I keep in cases of injuries. There's still quite a bit left.'

He nodded as he watched her stumble into her former room to search for the mentioned object.

She leaned in against a wall trying to breathe out. Her heart was racing, it was going faster and faster as if was about to explode. She felt hot and bothered. Hermione Granger wanted to have her way with Draco Malfoy. That sounded wrong on so many levels! How she had patronized all those other girls who easily jumped into bed with him for his charm. How she loathed them having no morals and no self-control. And yet... she was here, breathing heavily, sweating like she'd run 20 miles after briefly touching his chest. His perfectly sculpted male chest... She was a hormonal girl, just like the rest of them. "Oh how the mighty have fallen" her mind laughed at her. No, she would pull herself together. No, she would abide by her morals. The golden girl was almost convinced when she walked out back into the common room and looked at him. His hair was aligned perfectly, except for a loose strand and his eyes were heated and dark, his gaze intense on her.

'Well then, let's get started.' She nodded to herself and let out a breath. Slowly she sat down in front of him and then decided something. 'Turn around, I'll start on your back first.' Clever, she congratulated herself. His back was less appealing, would lead to less naughty thoughts on her part and she could finally think clearly again. And she didn't have to avoid his eyes, afraid he might catch her blushing. Perfect.

He turned halfway around in his armchair and relaxed. As she applied the cream to his back, her pulse quickened again. Her hands warmed were she touched him and her heart hammered so loud in her chest that she was afraid he would hear it. A few agonizing minutes later, she asked him to face her again. Now was the hard part. Maybe if she did it fast enough, she would live through it. Maybe she'd stop having thoughts about embracing him and tugging his hair and kissing him mercilessly until she was out of breath, then ripping his pants off and... Oh no no no. Bad thoughts, bad bad thoughts Hermione! Breathe. And she did. It was quick and ragged. As she touched his chest again, she looked up at him and Draco was piercing her with his perfect silver eyes. His lips were parted and he was breathing heavily.

'Screw morality.' she whispered. He raised an eyebrow and wanted to say something, but she reached out and desperately kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck, dropping the container that held the cream on the floor. He instantly hugged her lower back and kissed her back just as hungrily.

'About fucking time.' he huskily said when they parted for a moment to catch their breath. 'I thought I was going to die… from wanting you.' She smiled and he pulled her onto his lap, so she was straddling him. Then Draco kissed her again, running his hands through her lower back reaching to touch her bottom. She let out a soft whimper and he grinned. He attacked her mouth again , with her hands tangled in his hair, making it messy, secretly happy to distort this vision of perfection he often wore. Then she moved her arms to his back and dragged her nails across his back. Draco pulled away and shuddered.

'Fuck Hermione. I wanted this… I wanted this to be perfect with us, going slow... gentle.. Just like I know you'd like it.' he whispered, quickly taking off her shirt, his hands positioned on the hook of her bra.' But when you do _that_, I can't... I can't go slow. I want you now. If you don't then just run right now, I'm still giving you the chance to back out.' He stared intently at her and she kissed him back, hushing him.

'Stop now and I'll kill you Malfoy. Got that?' He grinned so brightly that he rivaled the Cheshire cat.

'Yes, miss.' With little effort her bra was unhooked and flying away from them. Draco kissed her lips softly before going down her jaw and her neck, sucking on the spot where her collarbone touched her skin and she yelped. Hermione closed her eyes, relishing the feeling. This was amazing. What had been her motivation for putting this off? Morals? Really now.

'You should have run little one, while you still could.' His tongue softly traced the path over her right breast and around her nipple, without touching it. 'Cause what I'll show you, will make you beg for more.'

'I don't beg.' – she looked down at him, her eyes harsh. 'I'm not one of your little sl… Oh!' he just dragged her nipple between his teeth and sucked on it gently.

'Of course you're not. That doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel good. Let yourself go this once.' He continued to give attention to her right breast, caressing the left one with his right hand. Her breath was soft and quick and he felt himself harden at that sound. Draco continued to kiss her breast while gently guiding his hand down her abdomen and stopped at the button of her jeans. He toyed with it, but after deliberating, he popped it open and slipped his right hand in. First he lightly grazed the skin of her thighs near the place that she felt heat up. He teased touching everywhere but there and she was growing impatient and anticipated when he would finally touch her there. Was it going to be good? It was okay the few times she had done it before. A bit painful, clumsy, yet never really that satisfying. But Malfoy had had a reputation, so maybe it would be better with him. Then he pulled up and observed her as he touched the place that was aching to be touched. She whimpered and let out a gasp. He returned to kissing her neck as his fingers brushed over her sensitive spot, before slipping in a finger inside of her, causing her to bite her lower lip from making noises.

Then he kissed her hungrily while he continued to gently glide his finger in and out of her. Hermione was barely whimpering, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted it to get better. She wanted...

'More'- she breathed into his right ear and he groaned. He pushed her off of him gently and slid off her jeans, taking off her damp knickers as well, while taking off all of his own remaining clothes in the process. She looked at him and blushed. Oh, so he was perfect everywhere. He looked hungrily at her before sitting down in the armchair again and pulling her on top of him. He brushed her cheek and kissed her again. Hermione lowered herself, brushing herself against him and earning herself a growl of appreciation. He looked at her once more, before entering her and both of them closed their eyes at the contact. Oh it was bliss, it was so much better than it had been before. It was like anticipating a drizzle and getting a thunderstorm instead. Without much pause he steadied her over him holding her hands and moved in and out of her, gradually increasing his rhythm. It didn't take long for her to crash into ecstasy and he soon joined her, grabbing hold of her, closing his eyes in pure bliss and shuddering until they both stopped trembling in each other's arms.

'That was..' – he began, looking deeply into her eyes and she finished. 'Yeah, it was amazing.' He nodded and smiled, burying his head in the crook of her neck.

'How is your pain?'

'What pain?' he asked, brushing his fingertips against her breasts.

'I didn't rub that much cream onto you, so I'm guessing it was all in your head. You forgot about it and it went away...'

'Remind me next time to tell you when I'm ever in pain so you can treat me like _that_.' the blonde grinned, his eyes covered with his unruly hair, sweat glistening on his forehead.

'We'll see. Oh and I should go back.' She leapt up off of him and began to dress herself.

'What... NOW?' he asked incredulously.

'Yes, now. It's quite late and they'll be looking for me. You should go back too.' she buttoned her blouse and the blonde came behind her naked and hugged her.

'I don't fucking feel like parting with you now. How about we stay?' he murmured against her skin, inhaling her scent and kissing her neck from behind. The scent of raspberries and mint on her was intoxicating.

'Oh and you don't mind that they'll find us here in the morning, sleeping together, naked?' she kissed his lips gently before putting on her invisibility cloak. 'I'll see you tomorrow. I'm not leaving you forever.'

He pulled away and she rushed out through the portrait hole lowering her gaze and not looking at him.

Draco turned around and went to shower. Sure, the pain was gone now, but the realization had finally sunk in, once he had time to think about it. Someone had used his mark and given him a nice painful reminder that he had no real control over his own mind. The thing the old lady did hadn't worked. The more he thought about it, the more angry he became. Oh he was going to find that old bitch and have her do her work properly. She still owed his father and she was going to do what she had to do. When he finished showering, he dressed and exited their old dorms, heading for the secret tunnel near the slytherin commons. When he entered Hogsmeade, he immediately went towards the same house he had been in previously and knocked. The same tall Irish man opened the door and looked at him surprised.

'You again? What do ya need so late?'

'Move.' was all Draco said and pushed past him, strutting into the drawing room he had previously been in, forcefully swinging the door open. The blonde ten year old was sitting on a couch, drinking firewhiskey. Another bottle was lying on the round, just rolling around back and forth.

'Well hello again, lad. Nice to see you!' the girl smiled and continued on her bottle before Draco waved his wand and the bottle smashed into tiny little pieces, leaving the liquid to pour all over the ground and her lap.

'After that crappy mark you gave me and that mind trick you tried to pull with making this place disappear is all you say to me 'nice to see you again'? You must be really fucked up.'

'Hey, I was drinking that. And what do you mean it didn't work? I said it would partly disrupt the connection. If it's strong, it might not even work.'

'No shit! It didn't. When I went back I was mind rapped where I got tortured and barely escaped to come out of unconsciousness completely unscathed. I fucking agree that it didn't work! You owe me! ' The blonde was livid, his face pulled into a very unhappy frown and his eyes narrowing at the blonde.

The girl yawned and cleaned off her lap with a handkerchief.

'Fine. I'll think of something. But first, do you know who is tailing you?' she asked, looking at a particular spot on the far left corner, near the entrance of the room.

'_What?_' he breathed, looking around frantically, but seeing no one.

'Oh, so you didn't know you were followed. Well then, my dear intruder, please show yourself, before I have to hurt you, okay? I'd much rather see who I was having this conversation with.'

Draco turned around to where Julie was looking and saw the air crumple and a cloak was lifted to reveal none other than Hermione Granger, looking angrily back at him.

'The Fuck, Hermione! Do you know how dangerous it is to follow me? You could have been hurt, you could have been killed! Are you out of your fucking mind?' Hermione just glared daggers back at him.

'Well I couldn't just let it go. I had to know where you were for two whole hours before I found you passed out in the hallway. I know you lied, so I had to know. A pleasure to meet you, miss.' Hermione bowed her head a little and went over to shake the young girl's hand.

'Such manners. But one would expect no less from the Heroine herself. I am Julie Enror, it is a pleasure to meet you, even if at such circumstances. I reckon you're this loudmouth's sweetheart?'

Hermione blushed and looked over at Draco, who just relaxed. 'Well sort of. We haven't really named this… anything yet.'

'Okay then, sit down both of you. We're going to have a long chat.' Draco eyed Hermione and followed her on the couch where the small girl sat in front of them.

'She doesn't feel like she's ten, so what is she?' Hermione whispered to Draco and he just quirked an eyebrow.

'I'm not sure, I imagine something like two thousand years old. Well she drinks like she can take it. Find me a ten year old who can do that.'

'Okay now, if you want any help, Draco, tell me everything that's been sort of off at Hogwarts. Or if you would, Hermione?' The girl crossed her legs over and looked at the teens.

Meanwhile, somewhere at Hogwarts Snape was looking at a person, holding a glass vial with blood in their hands, admiring the red glow it had when light hit the vial.

'It is perfect isn't it? I mean, who would have thought. Of all the people... her? Having the most potential. Such irony.'

'Yes, I suppose it is. What shall we do about it?' Snape asked.

'We use her of course, like we use the others. She has a mark after all. I was the one that branded her myself.' Bellatrix cheered, circling around her master.

'No, I have a different plan for her. After all, she is the key. She is the key to destroying them and by destroying them we'll have control over the others. It's the idea that matters. Destroy the indestructible. Destroy the heroes, destroy the hope. Her blood will serve its purpose when it is time. For now, I want her to feel sadness, anger, madness. I want to drive her desperate before she comes running to me herself.' the eyes of the person gleamed and her subordinates bowed.

'What shall we do then?'

'Gather more blood, but not from her, try others just in case. And prepare for a show. I need those pesky aurors gone. They're disrupting my peace.'

'Yes, of course. We shall not disappoint you.'

'I don't think you can, after all- you are made to serve my every wish and command.' the person grimaced. 'You are the products of my magic.'

**(Well, finally a little bit of the villain is revealed. And I do enjoy your reviews so much! Although I don't really have time to write so much anymore, so please try not to be pushy: ) I don't think this story is all that great, but the main thing is the idea I had, not that it's mostly a smut story. It's not, this part here was for the people, who wanted it to happen and waited. I agree, it was inevitable, but as I figured, it had to be a spur of the moment thing. It's my first time writing smut, so bear with me. As always, please r&r). **


	13. Chapter 13: gone

**(The Harry Potter characters don't belong to me except for the strawberry blonde I created. Hope you enjoy reading; it's been a long time since I posted! I'd really love your reviews for this. (As a gift for my lateness I'm posting two chapters instead of just the one. Enjoy.)**

Chapter 13: Gone

'I see.' Julia Enror looked straight at Draco as Hermione spoke and it made him feel slightly awkward. 'Is that all?' she inquired keeping her gaze on him, while Hermione stopped talking. The brunette nodded and Julia stood up, not dropping her eye contact. Then she turned her head a bit, closed her eyes and breathed out.

'Let me ask you one thing, Draco. Has anything been _off_ in the last… say... 6 hours?'

The blonde raised his eyebrow to look at the girl in front of him, but was unable to answer anything.

'Nothing, no?' she inquired again. As he began to crunch up his face, she pointed her finger to the left and as he looked, he saw himself being tortured by the two aurors. Then the scenery changed and he saw himself with Hermione in a very intimate position.

'What the...' he looked angry now as he bore his heated gaze into the girl. What was going on here?

'Sigh, looks like I have my work cut out for me. Well, it's not like I expected it to be easy, but come on... you are a Malfoy after all...'

Draco felt like boiling with anger and he tried to move forward and yank her by her frilly blouse, but he remained stuck to the spot.

'Yes, dear Draco. The last 6 hours have been all in…your...head. Even the intimate encounter with your girlfriend. I wonder if I managed to make her as you remember, but from what I gathered from your memories, I guess it did suffice.' she went over to Hermione and smiled, before the girl completely vanished. 'The real one is probably searching for you though, I suppose. Anyhow, are you calm enough so that I can wake you up now and explain some more?' Draco just blinked and narrowed his eyes. 'Good. Well then... oh what do those muggle hypnotists say on the telly? One two three, open your eyes?'

And with that Draco's eyes snapped open. His body was feeling sore all over, lying on the cold oak floor, with the girl looming over him curiously.

His eyes narrowed and his hands began to shiver.

'What the FUCK did you do to me you old bitch? Do you have any idea how sick that was? I had sex with my girlfriend for the very first time and now it turns out it was your sick little fantasy?I should avada kedavra you this instant you fucking bitch!'

'Oh, yes, sorry about that.' She smiled sincerely. 'But from what I gather she isn't that far from going that way with you, so forgive me ok? And enough with the profanities.'

'The _**hell**_ I'll forgive you!' Draco stood up, dusted his robes off and took out his wand slowly. The girl simply continued to walk along further and didn't turn around. '_Crucio_!' he yelled, but nothing happened. He had made the movement, there had been intent and everything was right. His face was full of shock as she turned around.

'Sorry, but you can't attack me. Not like you are now anyway. But don't worry. That's why your father sent me here. I'm here to train you. You didn't think your father sent you here for a _consultation_, did you?' she smirked in that infamous smirk he had seen countless times on his father… and himself. It was slightly unnerving.

'But before that, do you know how to produce a patronus? You do? Splendid. Then make one and send it to Hermione to the castle. Tell her, you're off to visit your sick great grandaunt for a while.'

Draco stared. He tried to remember the family tree in his mind as he ran across names on it. Having a photographic memory did help him a little. He remembered somewhere that Nicholas Malfoy had had a sister... Julianne.

Hermione darted through the corridors, running towards the spot she saw his name flash on the map. It was still there, but as she ran, she only saw a small flicker of light. It was a very small white transparent dragonfly. It flapped its wings and landed on her right palm. It was detailed, although a tad small. She knew no one that actually had such a small patronus.

'I'm sorry, I won't be returning for a while. Be safe.' It spoke in Draco's voice, softly like a whisper, and then it faded into the darkness. Hermione couldn't help but wonder when she would hear that soft voice again, for it held such tenderness, that she had never heard from him before.

A week had gone by and no news from Draco yet. He was taking his sweet time doing god knows what god knows where. She tried to tell herself that it was none of her business as they were only secretly going out and hadn't really made it official or anything and thus he could do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted. Or wherever. Darn. Still it was bugging her. Her girly side was whining to her that he clearly cared little for her if he didn't even say where he was. But he had sent a message. Well, some message that had been. No specific information whatsoever. She had tried asking Blaise, but he had been rather uninformed as well. When she finally gathered her courage and wanted to ask the headmistress, she heard some hufflepuff first years along the hallway gossiping about it.

'Say, isn't it really strange that Malfoy has been missing for a whole week now?'- a blonde one spoke up.

Her busty brunette sidekick nodded enthusiastically: 'I heard that he's visiting a relative, but what I really think happened was... they probably caught him doing something bad... like maybe he was cursing somebody, so they've brought him in for questioning, you know?'

Hermione clenched her fist while walking slightly behind them.

'Ooh! You are probably right! I mean they wouldn't tell the school unless it's confirmed, but since he's gone thaaaat long, they must have something on him! I knew it, I just knew it. He reeks evil, you know?' They both proceeded giggling before a cold female voice spoke up behind them.

'No giggling in the hallway! You two should be in class right now, what do you think you are doing here, gossiping?' Hermione's tone was harsh and firm and her fists were shaking by her side. The two turned around and immediately froze when they saw the fire in the head girl's eyes.

'We were on our way to the classroom… and...'

'No back talking! That's fifty points from Hufflepuff for each of you. Now hurry on to your classroom and I don't wish to hear a peep out of any one of you!'

The girls nodded and ran further along the corridor mumbling something incoherent.

Hermione continued to stand, her hands shaking even more so than before. The nerve! How could they go on and accuse Draco of... of... _of what exactly?_ Her conscience replied. _If it were you a couple of years ago, you would have deduced the exact same thing. _No I wouldn't. He's the head boy now and he's changed... He's not that kind of a person_. Isn't he?_ _Nice speech by the way, worthy of Snape I dare say. _Oh shut it-she told her annoying little head voice.

Still annoyed she rushed towards her classroom and sat down at the only empty desk, where Ron was already seated. It was quite odd to see him without Harry, for Harry had been discharged from the hospital just yesterday and she wondered why they weren't glued to the hip like usual.

'Hi Ron.' she tried to smile, but it came out forced. 'Why isn't Harry with you?'

Ron looked thoughtful, before he answered. 'He said he wasn't feeling well, so he stayed in the common room.'

'Oh, okay.' she didn't give it too much thought, for she was far too preoccupied with what the hufflepuff first years had been chatting about. What if Draco had done something?

Slughorn came in and took out a large old volume of Potions (That everyone in that class swore must have been a first edition) and looked very focused.

'Morning, class. Excuse me for taking five minutes of this classes time, but I just need to check something for the next potion we're about to make. I can't seem to remember if it's the root or the stem of the Daffodil that's supposed to be used. The newer version says it's the root... but how can it be..'- the old professor continued to talk to himself and the rest of the class used the opportunity to chat.

'Say, Mione?...' the redhead whispered and caught the brunette completely off guard.

'Mm, yes Ron?'

'Has... well... I know it's strange to ask this, but... has Harry not seemed off… recently?' Hermione's eyes widened and he continued. 'I dunno Mione, it's just that we've known him for seven years now and I don't know. He looks the same, he acts normal, but some things are just... I don't know. He drifts away. Like some things he says are just... not really him, you know? It's things I'd expect him to say, but then again... I must be sounding strange.'

'No Ron, it's okay. I haven't been around you two for that much recently with my duties and... um... (her head screamed Draco Malfoy, but she ignored it) and my studies for NEWTS.'

'Yeah, I guess. I guess maybe Harry is stressing over them too. I mean all this week after the incident he couldn't do any of his spells right. Maybe it's really the nerves.'

'Wait, what? He wouldn't mess up spells just because of nerves, because it's Harry! He's brilliant when he learns something. I mean you are speaking about the same boy who beat Voldemort. He's even better at casting when he's nervous.'

'I guess you're right… But he hasn't been able to even perform the spells we learned in first year. I mean when I come to think of it, it's been this week. This week after the incident with Malfoy… that's why I had a thought that maybe.. Maybe Malfoy cursed him, made him mess up his magic? I can't think of any other explanation. Can you?' Ron looked at her earnestly and she wondered what she could say. Hermione hadn't seen what had happened and she hadn't talked to Draco. And now Malfoy was nowhere to be seen... What if he had cursed Harry?

'Page 52 Miss Granger. If you would please read from it?' Slughorn said and Hermione immediately snapped back. Ron resumed starring at his book, staying unusually quiet.

When the lesson ended, Hermione looked up at Ron and asked him to go see Harry. They still had some time before the next lesson so Ron agreed. They were mostly quiet on their way there, bypassing some of their classmates, who were chatting excitedly.

'Ron?'

'Mm..?'

'Do you think... maybe... Dr... Malfoy... really did something to Harry during the match?'

Ron paused but then looked back at Hermione.

'I don't know. I know he's despicable, but… if there's anything I've learned from you is that I'm always too rash with my guesses, so I um.. I am gonna ask him that when I see him.'

Hermione couldn't help but smile a little. Ron looked so grown up.

'How are you going to... speak with him? So far your encounters have been anything but pleasant.'

Ron smiled his toothy smile back at her, his freckles sparkling in the sunlight.

'That's what I have you for. You've managed to keep him in track while being head girl, I was hoping for some tips so that I don't end up bashing his head through the wall.'

'I'll think of something.' Hermione smiled as they entered the bedroom that Harry and Ron shared.

Immediately she felt that something was off. Everything looked the same the last time she had been here, but somehow... It was darker, gloomier. She felt like she was suffocating. Her eyes drifted a little and she noticed a figure sitting on his bed, looking through the window, not noticing them walking in. His arms were tense and his whole body looked like it was a string on a violin.

She snapped back when her ginger companion put a hand on her shoulder.

'Harry? Mione is here to see you.' he spoke up quietly, pushing her a little forward, keeping in the background. 'Talk to him alone, maybe you'll figure something out? I'll stay in the common room.'

The brunette took tentative footsteps towards her friend, who visibly relaxed, when she came.

'Ah, Hermione, hello. Happy to see you. What's up?' he smiled at her and she noticed that he looked quite serene as well as that his hair was very neat. And very uncharacteristic. He looked so composed, calm, completely different than she had seen him a moment ago. It was as if a switch was turned on. Except that this was not a lamp, this was Harry Potter.

'I wanted to see if you were okay. You didn't come to potions, Harry.' She slowly sat down on the bed next to him and he merely shrugged.

'I haven't really been completely myself recently… so I thought I'd better stay and rest.'

Hermione relaxed. He probably wasn't completely healed yet. He was always one of those people who wanted to rush out of the hospital even if they had a limb missing. Her expression softened immediately.

'I think it's best you should see Madam Pomfrey again. Maybe she can give you something if you're not up a hundred percent, m?'

Harry looked back at her and smiled slightly, the smile never quite reaching his eyes.

'Maybe you're right, Hermione.'

'Of course I am, we could go right now... I still have some time before...'

'NO.' his voice came out slightly harsher than she'd expected, so she flinched and narrowed her eyes, grabbing hold of her wand by instinct. 'What I meant was…' he stood up and looked back at her 'you have your lessons now, we can go during lunch break, ok?'

'Oh um... I suppose so. Well then, I'll be leaving.' She was turning away before he crushed her into a hug.

'Thank you for worrying, _Hermione. _You are such a good friend. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you._.. what would I do?' _his voice was slightly a whisper but she felt anything but warmth coming from his mouth. It was Harry, and he wasn't completely well yet. She let it slide.

'I'll see you later, ok?' She felt guilty, but she wanted to escape from that room as quickly as possible. She met Ron, who was still sitting on the couch, with his hand propped against the arm rest, talking with Dean and Ginny, who were slightly more into the conversation than he seemed to be.

'Hi Hermione! How is your day going?' Dean smiled at her and she only nodded.

'It's fine Dean, hi Ginny.' Ginny waved at her and Ron looked up expectantly.

'We're going to see madam Pomfrey at lunch today Ron. I think it should be okay.'

'That's good. I've been bugging him to go since he returned, but he keeps brushing me off. At least he listened to you.' Ron answered, taking his bag. 'Come on, we should head on. Divination is up next.'

Hermione groaned and looked back at Harry's bedroom door. She wondered if she shouldn't drag him out by force right now. Divination felt like a waste of her time anyway. She'd be sitting idly by, listening to Trelawney babble and her mind would drift towards a certain blonde she was missing. And those lovely stormy grey eyes of his. Or his hands...

'Hermione? Don't worry about Harry. He's just probably still sore about losing the match. You know how he gets about quidditch.' Ginny said and linked her arms with the brunette, dragging through the Gryffindor common room door and into the hallway full of moving staircases.

'You don't think there's anything wrong with Harry apart from that Ginny?'

'What? Of course not. He's grumpy, that's all. But then again look at Ron, he doesn't look that good either, right? Boys and their troubles... I was in the team too you know, it's not like I am sulking in a corner all week about it.' The red head grinned and they stepped on a staircase as it approached them.

The stairs continued to move and they headed out one of the corridors. Divinations today was a joint lesson where fifth, sixth and seventh years all had to attend. Thus the hallway was quite pact. Since professor Trelawney had been feeling quite out of sorts (as Headmistress MacGonagall had put it during one assembly some time ago) divination classes had been put on hold. Though Hermione would have guessed that the strange woman had either had a mental break down or had drunk herself into a sherry stupor (Harry had mentioned to her once that Trelawney had a habit of nibbling on that specific drink for he had caught her with bottles before).

The classroom was quite lively and Hermione was seated next to Ginny. Luna was sitting somewhere over at the next row and waved to her, as did a few younger gryffindors. She saw Blaise sitting alone, with his hands crossed over his chest. He looked at her briefly, before returning his gaze upon the center of the classroom. Blaise had been quiet recently too, now that Draco had been gone. Apparently he hadn't really informed his best friend of his plans either. Thus Blaise was angry.

The large cape was the first thing everyone saw when the scarecrow lookalike professor entered the vicinity. She was a bit thinner than before and her hair was in an unruly cloud around her head. Her glasses were the only thing that had stayed the same. She looked a bit worn out. The head girl felt a pang of guilt for her previous assumptions. Perhaps the woman had really been ill.

'Welcome my dear students. Have you been in touch with your inner eye? Today's lesson shall be devoted entirely to strengthening your divination abilities. Have you all been practicing looking into the future with the exercises I have shown you, hm?'

Parvatti nodded enthusiastically as she took out a talisman and held it up front, Luna simply smiled and some others began to gossip. Ginny was snorting next to Hermione and she felt a bit more at ease. Those so called strengthening exercises have been strange rituals like sitting in your room in the middle of the night with a lit candle, some grass and strange Trelawney self-made talismans, while 'meditating'.

'Good, good! Now my dear children, how about we try seeing the future. Each pair has a crystal ball and I shall come over and see how you've progressed.' She took off the giant cape and came over towards a fifth year ravenclaw. The girl was wide eyed and amazed as she looked into the crystal ball. 'Well dear, what do you see?'

'I see... professor… I see a flower withering... it's um a white flower...' Everyone in the classroom laughed and the girl blushed deeply before lowering her eyes.

'Now, now class, no need to frown upon this small prophesy. Try focusing more dear, you are supposed to see something of meaning. I don't think a withering flower is anything that would really give you great insight on what to do other than maybe remember to water your plants.'

The class continued to laugh and the girl sank even lower in her seat.

'Well then, how about Parvatti Patil? Surely you can accomplish this task even better.'

Parvatti straightened and her dark eyes shone with confidence. She took her talisman in her hand and looked at the crystal ball along with with Trelawney. They both stayed silent for a moment, before Parvatti spoke up.

'I see that Neville is going to break his leg in the next Quidditch match.'

'Hey... wwhat? I don't even play in the team!' Neville stood up abruptly.

'I see you breaking it while sitting in the stands. Might want to sit a bit further from the middle, Neville.' Parvatti smiled, not taking her eyes from the crystal ball. Neville just looked at Luna, who patted him on the back smiling serenely.

'Excellent dear, your inner eye is really progressing. That's what I call pushing your limits by practicing. However, there always are people who have the talent even though they don't even know it. Hm... I have this feeling... why don't you try giving it a go, Miss Weasley?'

Ginny turned her head towards the woman, who stood just in front of their table.

'But I don't really believe in all of this thus I don't think it will..' Ginny murmured, but Trelawney put a hand on her shoulder shaking her head.

'It doesn't matter, seeing is believing dear. I have a feeling that you have a great sight. There are _some_, who aren't as talented (she looked over at Hermione with a patronizing smile), but I believe you can do it. Look at the crystal ball, concentrate... yes, that's it... it's not simply a ball... it's a window... now… what do you see through this window?

'It's useless, she won't be able to see anything because there is nothing to see!' Hermione rose from her seat but noticed that Ginny's eyes had gotten hazy and she was focused on the crystal in front of her. Trelawney kept her hand on Ginny's shoulder the entire time.

When Ginny spoke, her voice sounded monotone and cold.

'_**The day has come. The perpetrator shall be revealed and captured. Blood shall be spilt. Hogwarts shall be safe again**_.' and with that she slightly fell, but Trelawney caught her in her arms immediately.

'I knew it. I just knew you had it in you Ginny Weasley.' Everyone erupted into whispers and Hermione starred at her slightly disoriented friend before the bell chided. They walked off towards the dining hall and Ron helped his sister as Hermione went towards the Gryffindor tower to meet up with Harry.

Harry Potter was standing in front of their door smiling and looking quite happy, all uneasiness seemed to have vanished. His hair was still very neat and he was wearing a green sweater. He grinned even more when he saw her and she couldn't help but wonder how his mood had changed so drastically. He had been so tense before.

'Let's go, huh?' – he motioned for her to come and she followed alongside him , though she noticed they were not taking the route they were supposed to.

'Harry? Where are we going? The hospital wing is not this way...'

'Oh? I know. I just wanted to um… take the longer route, I've been cooped up in hospital beds or rooms for so long I wanted to take a breather, just walk before they coop me up into one again. Is that okay?' he stopped and looked over at her before she relaxed a little and continued on his route.

'Is there a specific spot you want to go to before we head to Madam Pomfrey..?' she asked, suddenly brushing her fingertips against her wand in her right pocket.

'Um no... just around... I guess...' he said, although he was turning corners and checking for something. Then his eyes became hazy for a moment which Hermione thought was just her imagination, before they widened considerably and he pulled her behind a corner quickly.

They could hear wishing sounds as someone fought just right behind that corner. The brunette peeked and saw two figures. One was a girl with long dark hair and slytherin clothing and the other was... Luna Lovegood.

'You don't have to do this, Astoria.' they heard Luna's soft and serene voice.

'Of course I don't... I _want _to. _Crucio_!' the raven haired girl screamed and Luna fell on the ground twitching and crying. Hermione wanted to run over and do something, but Harry held her firmly, motioning for her to stay put and observe. The golden girl stared wide eyed at her friend but didn't move.

They watched Astoria go over towards Luna and extract blood from one of her wounds into a small vial, before putting it inside her cloak and running off into the darkness.

'Now, we follow.' Harry said and dragged Hermione with him.

'Harry, don't you think we should tell someone? Like a teacher perhaps?'

'And what proof will we have when we do? We have to capture her and get the proof as well. Maybe she's hiding everything somewhere, let's go, come on!' he continued to pull her along quite forcefully. She followed, but the grip stung. And Harry seemed quite excited, not at all appalled that at what Astoria had done… or worried for Luna for the matter. Hermione couldn't free herself from his grip as he pulled her along. She turned to Luna as they passed her- she'd have to get help as soon as she could, though it did not seem to be a powerful crucio… at least.

They stopped near a classroom. Harry finally let go of her arm and she rubbed it. It was quite sore from his grip.

'She's inside. Guard this door while I go get help. I don't think we should try to take her on alone.'

Hermione nodded. Now that sounded reasonable enough.

'Get help for Luna on the way… I don't want her suffering... okay?' she whispered taking out her wand and turning her back to him as he ran away.

'_Sure thing_.' he said, before he ran behind a corner. As he gained some distance Harry Potter silently breathed out and headed out calmly ahead towards the dining hall. He met Ginny and Ron near the entrance.

'Hey Harry... are you already out of Pomfrey's office? Where's Hermione?' Ron looked confused.

'Yeah, had to drink a blood replenishing potion and that's all. Hermione said she had some head's business to take care of. So she went along.' Ron narrowed his eyes at Harry, but Ginny punched his shoulder.

'Don't be a worry wart Ron. She told me during divinations that she had a meeting with the hufflepuff prefects about something. Come on, I'm starving!'

'Um... okay.' The tall ginger looked out into the corridor, but it was calm, except for a soft breeze that blew through an open window somewhere. Then he followed the other two inside.

Hermione stood firmly by the door to the classroom. Had it been ten minutes, twenty? Where was Harry? Was Astoria really in there? She hadn't really seen her enter, but had rather followed Harry, who had been up front the whole time. She felt stupid. Of course Harry had seen her. Why would they have come here?

Then the door creaked and she saw red smoke coming through the hinges. Someone was crying inside. There were sounds of magic cutting through the air. Someone else could be in there! Without second thought she pushed the door with her wand raised high and looked up front. Astoria sat in a corner, waving her wand over the blood as soft cries rippled through the air. The room was full of small vials of blood, pictures of Voldemort and up front in the middle of the wall was a death eater symbol written in blood. It smelled foul all over. Hermione put a hand over her nose.

Astoria turned around and snarled, looking at the head girl.

'Well, well, well. If it isn't the famous Hermione Granger. _Super mudblood_. What the hell are you doing here?'

Hermione flinched but tried to stand firmly on her feet, her wand gripped and raised, ready for an attack.

'I know it's you that's been attacking those students. I just saw you attack Luna.' Her voice was slightly shaky and she cursed herself for it. Astoria just flipped her hair nonchalantly and looked back at the blood in front of her.

'So what of it? Do you think you can do something about it?'

'I shall bring you to the headmistress and she will know what to do with you. Harry has gone to fetch some teachers so you're time is up, Greengrass.'

'Really?' she smiled viciously as the door slammed shut. 'Well I'd like to see you try. Every one of them tried to oppose me and look how that's turned out. I'm still here... getting stronger. Getting closer... Getting more like him...' She brushed her fingertips along the jawline of Voldemort's picture and Hermione felt herself wanting to vomit. 'So, come at me, _Granger_.'

The brunette flicked her wand and whispered 'Petrificus totalis', though Astoria simply waved her wand and the spell was reflected. Just as fast the slytherin yelled a spell Hermione didn't know and a purple light brushed her abdomen, leaving a gash. Blood started to seep through her clothes. Hermione ran to the side and tried to attack Astoria again, but everything seemed in vain. Purple light beams flew at Hermione and she managed to deflect a couple before some more cut her in her legs, her neck.

She was hiding in a corner behind a table, breathing heavily. The cuts were bleeding quite a lot and she had to press her hand against the one on her neck for it was bleeding the most. She was starting to feel slightly dizzy. "Keep it together, help is coming, help is coming. "

'Come out come out, wherever you are... dear Golden girl... ' the footsteps were coming closer to where she was hiding. The Gryffindor knew her breaths were much too loud for her attacker not to hear her, but she couldn't move. She simply sat there, her wand raised and prepared.

'Bombarda!' the door exploded and Blaise, Theodore and Seamus burst in through it.

Theodore captured Astoria, twisting her hands behind her back and Seamus took her wand. Blaise ran towards Hermione and looked at her below the table.

'You alright in there, Granger?' he asked softly before she smiled.

'How did you... find me?'

'Walking towards detention… something was really off here, glad we decided to check it out.' Seamus piped in, leaning over the table to look at her as well.

'Thank Godrick... ugh I thought I was alone...Astoria... we followed her after she attacked Luna.. I think she was the one that... attacked everyone and..' her voice was becoming more quiet and she was slowly losing consciousness.

'Hey, Hermione, hey... We'd better get her to the Pomfrey, quick!' Seamus yelled, pulling the table away and rushing towards her. Blaise was quicker. He gathered the unconscious Hermione in his arms and lifted her up easily.

Seamus looked displeased. 'I'll take her. You two get this one to the headmistress.' Theo didn't question Blaise's words, but Seamus wanted to say something.

'Come on.' Theo said and pushed an angry Astoria onwards, Seamus reluctantly walking behind him.

Blaise slowly proceeded out the door looking at the sleeping girl's face.

'Quite an ordeal you were put through huh?' he brushed a few strands of hair from her face.

'Draco..' the brunette whispered almost incoherently before turning her face slightly.

'Ah… carrying a girl in my arms and she goes on and mumbles that asshole's name. Ah, whatever. Draco had better come back soon or I might just steal this one away from him.' He chuckled darkly before quickening his pace.

(**Okay so that was it. For now.. Somewhere along the way I decided to hell with what I had planned, I decided on some new things and thus the story moves on.. It's mostly what I had planned since I started writing this fic, but then again I watch some movies, hear some songs and I get inspired to twist things a little. I am that kind of person who likes nothing to be really clear until the very last minute. So here you go. I muffled everything up. Thought the last chapter was interesting? Well what about the notion that it was all made up by Julia in Draco's mind. (Well, most of it anyway). And for those who bug me about not enough Draco/Hermione smut or whatsoever, I decided that this is a story I focus on the plot of, not only on the romance. So there. I'll write what I feel that needs to be said and not what someone wants.. there will be.. or should I say, should be some smut somewhere along the way. And don't worry our lovable Draco is coming back. He has other things to focus on right now. Please read and review! The next chapter is coming right after this one :))**


	14. Chapter 14: rain of blood

Chapter 14: Rain of blood

'What happened?' her voice came out more raspy than she had intended. For what she could tell, she was lying in the hospital bed and was feeling slightly dizzy.

'You don't remember?'- the ginger haired companion on her left asked her.

'I remember fighting with Astoria, bleeding a lot and Blaise saving me.' Her friend smiled and took her hand in his gently.

'So you do remember. Can you tell me my name?'

'Ron, I lost blood, not my damn memory. How long was I out?'

'Okay, that's fair. You've been out for three days. Ginny, me, Harry, Blaise and Luna have been changing shifts staying with you for as long as Pomfrey allowed us to. How are you feeling?'

She rubbed her head a little and turned towards the window. The sunlight stung her eyes.

'Like I'm just barely here.' she pressed her fingers against his hand and smiled. 'What… happened while I was unconscious?' there was a small curiosity in her voice that longed for information, one specific piece of information.

'Oh. Yeah, I'm probably not the best person to explain, I get caught up in the details and...'

'Ron, go ahead. You're the _only_ available source of information I have at the moment.'

'Well, um, okay. Hm.' he cleared his throat and began. 'Astoria was taken by aurors to the ministry of magic. My dad told me they questioned her severely and she's probably going to be sent to Azkhaban… she is of age you know and all that... they found that she'd been cursing everyone to try and become stronger, like her ideal... could you believe it? Voldemort. The girl had some screws loose I tell you!' Hermione narrowed her eyes and he understood that he should move along with the story. 'Then they found lots of blood samples, and she'd been doing some freaky experimenting with them…anyhow, now the aurors are gone and McGonagall made sure to mention to everyone that you were the one who found her. Well and yeah, when you are feeling better you can go back to your own dormitory again, if you want that is. Oh and can you believe that Ginny actually made a prophesy about that, that very same day? Isn't that freaky? Mom had been blabbing to the neighbors all about it, about how her little daughter is going to be a famous prophet or something. Which both I and Ginny think is absurd... I mean one prophesy isn't enough to...'

'Thank you Ron, that's enough. Anything… else?' The brunette blushed slightly, but could not ask about the one thing she had wanted to know more than anything. She had seen him in her dreams more than once, but every time he was running away and she couldn't catch him. She was running in the same place and he continued to drift further apart.

'No. Everything is great. I think Harry is getting better too. It's been a few days, but he's smiling again, training with us.'

Hermione released his hand and turned away.

'Ron... could you... could you please leave me alone for a moment? I'm feeling... sleepy..' she lied, her eyes tearing up a little. She wished for Ron not to see that as there would be too many questions she knew she couldn't answer. What was she really to Draco? Could she validate that question with an answer? Not really. And if she herself didn't know, she surely could not tell anyone else.

'Of course, Mione. Try to relax and get better. I suppose you'll want to read up on what you've missed. Here – I tried taking notes for you. Um and so did Ginny. I guess hers will be better. Okay so then I won't disturb you. See you later?'

She waved him goodbye as she slowly sat up in bed. The beds around her were all empty, which she supposed was good. That meant no one had gotten hurt recently. And Luna had already been discharged, which was great also. What she couldn't quite place were still Bellatrix and Tonks. If Astoria Greengrass had really been the one behind all of the attacks, and per se had turned into both Tonks and Bellatrix, then why did she run into the forest? She had a good hiding place in the castle... why go there? It made no sense. And why attack her so she'd bleed out? Why not torture her or kill her? She had killed Pansy before, hadn't she? Maybe she was overthinking it... but somewhere inside of her there was a tiny voice telling her something was wrong. And she also remembered the fact that Harry had been the one to lead her to Astoria and hadn't returned with backup after he'd been gone.

Draco was sitting on the floor looking at his wrist. The leather strap was loose enough for the small wooden bead to roll up and down when he twisted his arm. He looked mesmerized by the whole action.

Julia bent down to look at the bracelet and simply smiled to herself.

'Did you think of what you want it to look like?' she asked him and he immediately blinked as if snapping out of a trance.

'It's really necessary isn't it?' he murmured.

'I've told you before. You don't have to. But if you want to be able to use your own blood for creating spells, you should. You know the spells will be stronger and you will be able to resist control by others.'

The blonde closed his eyes and stood up gracefully.

'I've decided. But how soon can I go back after that?'

'A couple of days.'

'Well, let's get this over with then.' he walked towards the door and she followed. The small blonde nine year old knew exactly why he was rushing. She had to admit she was curious about the link that girl had with the youngest Malfoy.

A few more days passed and Hermione found herself once again in the spacious Head's dormitory. Oh how she had missed that couch and that private shower. As well as her own big bed without having to share the room with a few more people. Not that Ginny wasn't fun to be around, it was all that girl talk at night that the other occupants enjoyed participating in. She really wasn't interested in being pushed to go on a date with Seamus Finnegan or other candidates. She also did not particularly enjoy the talk about sex techniques that some of the boys used. Godrick she now could never look them in the eyes again after hearing that. Weren't those things meant to be private? Not to be giggled and discussed about in their bedroom. Thank god Ginny had not participated in that particular conversation. If she were to hear about Harry... Hermione paled and felt herself wanting to vomit. That was one thing she did not ever wish to know about the boy wonder, savior of the world.

Headmistress McGonagall had personally invited the trio just recently to thank them all, especially Hermione, for finding the culprit. The brunette couldn't help but wonder why Harry never mentioned to anyone that he had been with her when they came across Astoria cursing Luna. When she had asked, Harry told her that they had split up and asked her if it had maybe been the blood loss that caused her to be confused afterwards. It only made things weirder.

Now that she had her room again, she could make up on the studying. Although since she had been reading more than was necessary, she practically hadn't missed anything important. So she had to continue on her Head's duties as if the whole incident had been nothing. Today was the day of her first nightly shift and she had asked Blaise to accompany her. He wasn't a prefect, but everyone else already had a partner and now that Malfoy was missing she was left alone. She didn't particularly want to patrol alone after the last incident with Astoria, where she realized that maybe she wasn't as strong alone as she had thought. It was difficult to come to that conclusion. Her stubborn self refused to, but she did admit that she needed more practice with her spells. She had been quite dormant in that field for some time now.

'Hermione?' Blaise said, touching her left arm as they walked quietly down the corridor.

'Um, yes?'

'Do you mind if we split up for a bit? I'll patrol on this side and you go on that side. Let's meet up here in about fifteen minutes?'

'All right.' she agreed, holding her wand tighter and continuing forward. She spotted a couple of second year ravenclaws trying to incinerate a painting and took twenty points off of them before making sure they were returning back to their rooms. As fifteen minutes passed she found herself in the exact same spot in the corridor. One side of it had a railing and she could see down, where stairs were moving. Everywhere else it was quite dark and the moon shone through the small window on the ceiling in front of her. She leaned against the railing, stretching her muscles. Hermione definitely needed to start exercising. Lying in the hospital bed for so long gave her terrible aches upon the slightest movement.

Ten minutes passed and yet no Blaise. The dark skinned wizard was neither heard nor could she see his wand illuminating the corridors anywhere.

'What is it with those slytherins? Is punctuality not a virtue? Where has that damn Zabini gone to?'

She heard a soft chuckle behind her that tickled her neck. Her eyes widened and she listened for the voice again.

'Be careful making wishes in the dark, love.'- came a soft and husky reply just beside her. 'It might hurt my feelings, you know.'

'Dr... Draco?' she turned her head around to see if it really was who she thought it was. Perfectly ruffled blonde hair, that porcelain white skin that shone slightly in the moonlight, those stormy grey eyes that were warmly looking back at her and that cocky smirk on his lips that told everyone he owned the world. 'When did you get back?'

'Just now.' He merely wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent. Then he began to plant soft kisses on her neck and she stiffened.

'People could see! Draco.. you please.. agh... I can't form coherent thoughts like this. Where have you been?'

'Visiting my sick great grand aunt. Missed me?' he pulled away to look into her eyes, but his gaze lingered on her bottom lip, observing it as if it were a piece of ripe fruit and he had not eaten in over a month.

'No of course not, it's not like we're dating... so missing you was totally out of the question.'

'Oh, aren't we? I kind of thought we were.'

And with that one sentence he threw all her doubts out of the window. They were officially dating. Huh. Somehow she had expected it to be different. She stared at him slightly blushing, unable to hold his intense gaze.

'Well then let me make it clear for you, _Hermione_.' he purred her name in a way that she instantly melted. 'You are mine.'

Before she could decide if that had been a proclamation of ownership which she would definitely not approve of or if it had been the most romantic proclamation of love she had ever heard, he leaned in and kissed her. She inhaled deeply, giving off a slight shiver and put her hand in his hair, pulling it. His arms remained on her waist as he deepened the kiss. She forgot she was mad at him for being gone so long, for not knowing where they stood, for not even answering her questions properly at the moment. All she wanted was this moment to continue. She had missed him so much her whole body ached upon seeing him, hearing him, feeling him. Draco lifted her in his arms easily and planted her on the railing, making her wrap her legs around his waist. On impulse she began to unbutton his shirt just a little to feel that muscular chest that she dreamed of touching. His breath hitched when her fingertips grazed his clavicle.

He pulled away from her and kissed along her jaw softly biting it, then along her neck, down to her blouse before a cough interrupted them. He ignored it and returned to kissing her neck. She was breathing heavily and allowing him to ravage her completely. How he had missed her. It wasn't just the physical he missed, he missed hearing her voice, seeing her frown, reprimand him. It might have been two weeks here, but he had been training with Julia in his subconscious, where time flow was 6 times slower. For him it had been 3 months. And that was a long time to realize he wanted her. No, _needed_ her. Some small disturbance was not going to stop him.

'Oh for Salazar's sake would you two cut it out already! I've been coughing here for a whole fifteen minutes trying to subtly tell you- YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAMN CORRIDOR AND THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO HAVE SEX!' Blaise yelled and they both broke apart. Hermione's whole face became red, she released Draco and jumped down from the railing to straighten her clothes out and her hair.

God she was so embarrassed! They had been snogging at night, in the corridor! She looked over to Draco, who only raised an eyebrow to Blaise as if saying 'so what?' and she suddenly felt furious.

'I'm going back to my room. Sorry for the um… yeah... bye.' she sprinted along the corridor, maintaining her extremely visible blush.

'Why'd you have to go and ruin it for me, mate?' the blonde sighted, letting out an exhausted breath. Then he ran his hand through his messy hair and Blaise noticed something on his right wrist.

'We agreed ten minutes. It's been thirty. Besides this isn't the best place for that and you know it. By the way, what's that... cat's eye tattoo on your wrist?'

'Noticed it even in the dark? Impressive. That's nothing. Just a random tattoo I decided to get while I was bored over at my aunt's. Anyway, let's head towards the commons. I still have to pack to go back to the head's dorm tomorrow.'

'Please try to refrain from attacking Granger while I'm near. It's not so fun to watch.'

'Can't promise that.' Draco grinned as he pulled his sleeve over his right wrist, hiding the small cat's eye with the yellow iris.

Draco sat in his usual place at breakfast, observing the other students and teachers. Since he had been away for some time Blaise had briefed him in on what had happened. He definitely agreed with Blaise that the younger Greengrass was definitely was a decoy. Someone wanted to get rid of the aurors, bad. What he also noticed was that many of the students had various scratches on their body, which none of them seemed to be particularly worried about. There was that ugly gash along the shin of a muggleborn fourth year Gryffindor and again the same kind of scar just peeking out of the shirt of a second year slytherin.

"When you go back, remember to watch everything, observe. There is someone at school who is using blood magic and that someone is going to need blood for that. Since various students have been attacked, I'm guessing that someone wants very potent blood. I suppose it's searching for the perfect donor for his spells." "Why don't they just use their own blood? Isn't that more practical?" Draco had asked. "Ah yes, using your own blood is possible, but then you'd be limited to the supply you have and you would only be making yourself weaker. That means you'd be using your energy and your blood for a spell. You'd get drained twice as fast. That's why using someone else's blood might not make the spells as powerful, but a lot more can be done without having to use your own reserves too much. Anyway, just watch everything and see if you can find something that's amiss. If they tried to control _you_, there are others that probably are being controlled, and when they are controlled through blood magic, they have a special link with their master. That might give you a clue what their weakness is."

'Tsh, how am I supposed to find a weakness? All I see that that person is still active. That's all.' – he whispered more to himself than anyone else.

'Yo, Draco! Still staying in the slytherin dorms, huh? Awesome. I was afraid you'd go to your private chambers with Granger.' Theodore Nott plopped down beside him and gave him a push on the back.

Draco simply ignored it.

'You know I am surprised she's running about so soon, I thought she'd be out of it longer.' – he sheepishly said, taking some fruit on his plate.

'What do you... mean?' the blonde slowly turned his head towards the Gryffindor table where he noticed she had just come in and sat down in front of Potter and Weasley and was chatting up Longbottom along with that strange blonde ravenclaw people called Loony. Blaise shook his head, looking at Theo in a heated gaze that said not to speak another word. Theodore Nott looked around oblivious and shrugged.

'Well you know, after being attacked by Astoria she was so severely wounded she almost bled to death. Was unconscious for three whole days and then a couple of days later she got discharged. She's still quite pale if you ask me. That's why I'm wondering... you know..'

Blaise smacked his hand on his head. One thing he wanted to protect Hermione from was the enraged Malfoy, when he found out she'd been hurt while he was gone. Good one Theo, way to keep your loud mouth shut. Draco rose from his seat slowly, his eyes burning with rage as he stiffly walked up to the Gryffindor table.

'Oh no, this screams disaster.' Blaise said before rushing after his best friend.

Hermione Granger was talking to Neville about the next history of magic assignment before she felt a burning aura coming near her. When she raised her eyes, he was glowering at her, the sides of his perfect mouth facing downwards, yet his posture perfectly poised as he neared their table. He slapped his hands on the table just between Harry and Ron and leaned his tall frame over the table to meet her eyes.

'What do you think you're doing, Malfoy?' Harry sneered, but Draco ignored him.

'Why are you angry... Malfoy?' Hermione silently asked, not fearing his gaze one bit.

'Oh I'm not angry.'- he moved his head a little closer towards her face. 'I am fucking _pissed_.'

Everyone in the neighboring tables became still and looked at the two. There was an aura that said do not come closer if you want to live. But it was so interesting to see what those two would fight about. There had been a long time since they saw a Malfoy Granger related quarrel.

'Theodore here tells me you were injured.'

'Yes, I was slightly injured while fighting with Astoria, no big deal.' His eyes narrowed, the orbs portraying an upcoming storm.

'Slightly injured? SLIGHTLY? You almost _**bled**_ to death! And why? Because you attacked Astoria all by _yourself_? How _the fuck_ was that keeping out of trouble!'

Hermione looked around and saw that everyone was starring.

'I'm a big girl, I could deal with it.'

'A big girl huh? I heard you were unconscious in the hospital for three days and stayed four more after that. Do you have any regard for your wellbeing_** whatsoever**_? You daft girl?'

Everyone looked around not understanding what was going on here. Ok, so this wasn't a typical Malfoy Granger fight.

Hermione rose from her seat and looked back angrily at him.

'Who are you to tell me what to do? You're not the boss of me!'

'I'm your **fucking** boyfriend, that's what.' He yelled before capturing her lips in a very heated kiss. Somewhere along the way her mind screamed at her that they were in the middle of the dining hall where every possible person in whole Hogwarts saw and heard them, but that thought got lost along with the fact that he had just announced he cared for her to every one of them.

'Get your slimy hands off of her.' Ron whispered between clenched teeth as he pulled Draco away from Hermione.

Hermione looked bewildered. Draco freed his shirt from the ginger's grip and accidentally brushed Harry's shoulder with his hand. Harry immediately flinched and backed up as far as he could on the bench, which ended him pressing against Neville.

'Harry are you all right? Did Malfoy hit you?'

'Uh.. yeah, it seems so.. ' When the blonde turned his head towards the boy wonder, he was breathing heavily and his glasses were fogged up. His eyes looked hazy and unfocused. It reminded Draco of the incident at Quidditch. Curious, he thought. Maybe his aunt had been right on observing. It could prove useful after all.

He quickly readjusted his shirt and walked away before drawing any more attention to himself.

'I'll see you at the dormitory.' He told Hermione before vanishing through the door along with a very reluctant Blaise.

As he bypassed the door, he briefly glanced over to his left, where a first year slytherin with long strawberry blond hair and blue eyes that had a grey tone was walking. The girl looked over at Draco briefly and her eyes sparkled in a knowing way. A second later both of them turned around and continued on their path.

'Harry, Harry is everything ok?' Hermione rushed over to his side of the table, taking her friend's hand in hers and Ron joined her as well.

'What the hell did he do now Harry? And Hermione, what _was_ that?'

'I'll explain later. We'd better get Harry out of here. Let's get him to his room.' The golden trio rushed out as well as a few others. The girl with the strawberry blonde hair looked through her glasses and noticed that the raven haired boy, who was panting heavily and had a rash on his neck. It was big red blotches, glowing quite strangely.

'How very interesting.' she exclaimed, before looking over at the teacher's table. There a very displeased looking teacher sat, all dressed in black. He was watching the display with a slight worry to his features.

Ron knew that the there was something wrong with the world, even if he couldn't quite tell what it was. Hermione was the smart one, she'd always been able to figure everything out. Harry had been the one who had been a great observer, noticing small details and putting them together. He knew that he himself was one who was quick to act without thinking too much. The one you could count on to make a direct attack. However, now he was sitting on the steps of the astronomy tower wondering if he was the only one seeing it all.

Harry was still acting strangely. It had begun when he fell in the Quidditch match. No, maybe even before then. He couldn't quite recall when it started, but his best friend had become different. There were the little things he'd do or say differently than he always did. Also he barely played any quidditch except for that last match, which was odd on its own. Harry loved Quidditch, anyone could tell you that. Also he'd been going in and out quite occasionally. Never telling him where or why. And after that incident at the match with slytherin, he had been off with his magic too. Now after Malfoy... whatever he had done to him, he was looking a bit sickly again. He couldn't ask Hermione any more, for now he knew that Hermione and Malfoy... why _**Malfoy**_ of all people? Was he considered people? He was a snake, a slimy traitorous snake. He'd sell his own family for power and fame. Why did he proclaim himself her boyfriend and she let him? How sick was that? How could he talk to her about Malfoy being at fault for Harry's behavior if she actually liked the git.

And Ginny... Ginny acted as if the world was right in order. It was sickening. He was becoming furious. It had to be Malfoy's fault. It had to. Malfoy must have cursed Harry somehow, which activated again when he touched him. Yes, that must have been it. He wasn't that great with remembering spells, but there was probably a curse somewhere that would make you sick and unable to do magic. Somewhere in those dark magic books. Malfoy had been caught possessing one before after all. Who was to say there weren't more?

He'd have to catch Malfoy alone and make him confess. It shouldn't be too hard, Malfoy always did like to boast about whatever he did. So why had he been keeping quiet now? If he didn't tell, Ron would have to show him the Weasley hospitality by bashing his head in until he did. Excellent. Now, time to find Malfoy.

'Astoria is sorry for not being able to capture Hermione Granger. But she has been transported to Azkhaban, so she will fulfill her duty there.' a cold voice spoke, looking intently at the other person.

'Useless girl, that's what she was.' Tonks replied beside him, crossing her arms over.

'Now now, she had her uses. After all, she supplied us with multitudes of Miss Granger's blood.' A man with a houndish looking smile answered.

'Sirius is correct, my dear. She did give me a good enough supply. Drink up my dears, you need your strength. We need to be getting stronger if we wish to fulfill our quest. '

The surrounding trees cried into the night. The moon was covered in half and shone upon the puddle of dark water in the middle of the clearing. The clouds gathered and the master waved her wand. Slowly it began to rain blood. About twenty opened their mouths and closed their eyes, savoring the taste in their mouth. As they drank, they began to glow brighter, look younger and stronger. Bellatrix waved her wand and a tree was cut in half, burning. She screamed in glee. Severus just rolled his eyes and looked over at the master.

The master leaned in against a big velvet chair, pressing fingers against the right side of the neck, where some red blotches covered it. They were irritating and hurt quite a bit. But none the matter. It was all coming along nicely. They had enough supplies of blood, those pesky aurors were gone and they had successfully planted one of the creations in Azkhaban, where all those awaiting were positioned. Soon the army would be ready and they would be ready to turn this boring world upside down. Now all that was needed was a few more soldiers, fighting by her side.

'Master, is everything in order?' Snape walked up closer towards the velvet chair, whipping the remaining blood from the corner of his mouth.

'Ah, yes, do not worry Severus. You get those awful wrinkles on your face.' she laughed slightly and extended her hand towards his face. 'Although I do not know how that is possible, I have after all created you all immortal. That is why you shall forever remain beautiful and loyal to me.'

'We shall never disappoint you, master.' Severus knelt beside the velvet chair and kissed the soft female hand that had stroked his cheek just seconds before.

'That is why I have you all. Because no one will defeat you... or thus me.'

**(Okay enough with the blabbering, I don't know if you liked it all, but I hope oh yes I do hope you did. Two chapters just one after another, how about that? Were they a little weak perhaps? I've been away from writing for some time and it's difficult getting back on the proverbial horse. Plus somehow I don't really have an idea what I could have the main villain do bad that would be awful but not quite as bad as the general badness I am planning. (any ideas? I'm totally not a bad guy myself, thus I have little creativity for the bad things one can do.) Anyway, see ya around, hope you read and review. Hope some things are getting clearer. Now bye bye!) **


	15. Chapter 15: chilly day in spring

Chapter 15: Chilly day in spring

'Harry, you sure he hit you? I can't see anything wrong with your face.' – Ron was inspecting Harry in the common room. Ginny, Hermione and Neville sat next to them.

'Well it felt like being hit, so come off it Ron. Why would I lie to you?' the dark haired wizard scrunched his face up and turned away, leaning against Ginny.

'I don't know.' the ginger mumbled, looking at his sister and Harry snuggling. 'Fine. I won't ask you, just stop that display... ugh... Ginny. I'm still in the room you know. So is Neville and Mione.'

'Um... its fine, I was about to go get ready for History of Magic. You wanna go, Hermione?' the boy was still quite shy despite becoming tougher during the war.

Hermione silently nodded and followed Neville out. She was just extremely thankful that no one mentioned the elephant in the room. Draco had announced being her boyfriend. Was that taken as a joke or maybe her friends were a lot more lenient than she originally thought? It didn't matter. Ron had been right after all. Something was seriously wrong with Harry. Draco had barely brushed up against him and he recoiled like he'd been burnt. Also his neck did not look good. She didn't mention it because Harry also apparently tried to hide that fact by either putting a hand over it, or hiding behind Ginny. What also caught her eye was that his scar looked red around the edges. However this _Harry Potter_ had tried to arrange his hair and make it look tidy by brushing most of it over his scar, his hair was not immune to gravity. Thus she had caught a glimpse of his scar, which was obviously was bruising. The same way Draco's dark mark had been.

She pulled her eyes away from her friends and followed Neville out of the common room. When the portrait door shut itself she didn't hear Neville talking to her, so it took a while for her to register that he was.

'So um... you and Malfoy?' he silently asked. The brunette sharply turned around and stared at him wide eyed, blushing a little.

'Yes… um.. I guess so.'

'Even though... Malfoy is a bully... I think I'm happy for you. If you are together, I guess there must be something good about him. I do have to admit that he isn't the same he used to be. I barely get any comments from him anymore.' the boy gently smiled, brushing a few loose strands of hair with his fingers.

'That's because no one wants to mess with you after the war. You're kind of a cool guy. I think they're all just scared of you.' – Hermione offered her own small smile at him and he blushed, looking at the ground. Apparently the shy boy from their first years was still ever present, even if he had finally grown somewhat of a spine.

A group of girls walked by and bumped into Hermione. She brushed her hand over her shoulder. It had hurt. The head girl turned around and met a group of very cold stares. Five girls were standing and looking her over. Two were ravenclaws and three were slytherin. She recognized them all, but she couldn't remember their exact names. They had been one or two years younger than her.

'Shouldn't you apologize after hitting someone? Isn't that common courtesy?' Hermione asked astounded.

'If you don't watch were you're going, then that's your problem. And isn't it _common courtesy_ to apologize for taking someone else's property?' the tallest one sneered.

'I'm sorry? I don't understand.' hazel eyes were wide with disbelief.

'Draco Malfoy isn't your boyfriend. Remember that. He's everyone's to share and enjoy. No matter what you think, you're just a toy... _for now_. Don't think you're so important.' she continued and the others just stood by with their hands of their hips.

'Excuse me, but it was him that said that. Not _me_. Why is it any of your business who he hangs out with?'

The girls rolled their eyes and chuckled.

'You think he actually likes _you_? _**A mudblood**_? Every girl knows he is going to be married when he finishes school. Thus we enjoy him without any attachments. That's the rule.'

Hermione began to laugh.

'We are in a relationship. Deal with it. I'm not going to stand idly by and be insulted. If you continue, I am going to deduct house points for your insolence. I am head girl after all.'

'Whatever. Let's go. Remember _mudblood_, you are just a toy. When he gets what he wants, he is going to dump you faster than you can say 'gryffindor'.' with that they turned around and resumed their walk down the corridor.

Hermione looked back at Neville, her curls bouncing as she did so.

'What…was _that?' _he asked and she simply pulled him to walk further. She should have deducted house points was the only thing she thought of.

As they entered the classroom, they spotted Draco arguing with Blaise over something. They were sitting at different desks, which was odd. If they had wanted to talk, they should have sat together. The professor rarely cared where anyone sat anyway. He only cared for complete silence and obedience (which in itself happened quite often as many slept the lecture away due to the subject being delivered in the most boring monotone voice.)

Neville bid her goodbye and walked to the right of the classroom to join Dean while she continued forward towards Blaise's table before she was grabbed by her sleeve. She turned around to spot an annoyed looking blonde.

'Where are _you_ going?'

'To sit next to Blaise, like I always do.'

'Not today. Since I showed up to this boring lecture I expect you to sit next to me.'

'But Blaise...' she was suddenly feeling shy though she could not explain it. She had snogged him in the hallways just yesterday. Somehow, sitting at the same desk at a lecture had felt intimate. She stopped and slid on the far end of the bench. When she started to take out her book, she felt herself get pulled more towards him until she bumped into his left side. He had his wand out and was still eyeing her with an annoyed expression that she read as 'not so far away, you silly girl.'

' , please refrain from using your wand during my class. This is history of magic after all, not charms. I wish that you would understand the importance of this specific subject.'

'Excuse me, professor. I was just feeling cold. Early spring is quite chilly this year, no?' the blonde grinned at Hermione and she began to stare at the book as not to smoulder from his gaze.

Blaise rolled his eyes and directed his attention towards Binns, who raised a finger into the air as if remembering something.

'Ah, but there has been a spring that was very cold. That was 1218. Rubard the red had even attempted to bring the spring forth using magic as many were suffering from the cold and disease... he did however not succeed... nature manipulation is practically impossible.. well, there have been others who tried..' the ghost babbled and half the classroom was asleep already, hiding behind books or using a charm to appear as if they were awake and listening intently, while actually dozing off in dream land.

Hermione was writing something down on her quill when she noticed a hand lightly touching her right leg, brushing over it gently, fingertips tugging her skirt, slowly slithering under the fabric, going further under her skirt. A minute ticked away and she couldn't concentrate anymore.

'Please... stop? I'm trying to...' she stuttered blushing and her quill landed on the floor.

'Miss Granger is something the matter?' the ghost professor asked and everyone who wasn't sleeping looked at her.

'No... I dropped my quill. I'm sorry professor, please carry on.' The brunette looked up at Draco with determined eyes and he simply grinned a wolfish grin but kept his hand on her leg. She lowered herself and took her quill then looked up at him again with a more serious glare and removed his hand. She seemed content and continued scribbling on her parchment. A minute passed. Nothing. "Good" she thought and relaxed. Then she felt it. His leg was gently brushing up against hers, sliding over her shin, just barely touching her skin. It left goose bumps and she shivered.

Hermione turned her head towards him and looked at his silver eyes. They appeared innocent and he just rose an eyebrow lifting both his hands up as if saying 'hey, I'm not touching you with my hands, so what's wrong?' before she furiously turned around and continued to scribble on her parchment, determined to keep ignoring him for the rest of the lesson.

Draco stopped what he was doing and pressed his cheek against his palm, still looking at her. Damn her for being so adorable. He had forgotten just how amazing she looked, with those bouncy brown curls and those heated hazel eyes that made his breath hitch when she looked at him. He could do nothing but want to annoy her to get her to blush and look up at him. This lecture was bull, he had all that memorized by age seven from the Malfoy library anyway. When he thought about it, he probably had this coming. He had always felt a strange self-satisfaction by teasing her. Calling her names, riling her friends, just to see her reaction. Even her hate excited him. It was so much better admitting to himself that he fancied her and being able to do things like this. His mind reminded him that he still had a mission to fulfill. Little mattered though when he saw her gentle hands scribbling excitedly on her parchment and all he wanted was to disrupt her process. He had an idea, but he'd have to wait until potions to try it out. For now, he'd leave her alone.

When the lesson ended she packed her bag quickly and left with Longbottom and Thomas before he could go along with her. Not that he really minded, as long as neither came too close to his brunette.

Blaise came up to him and they followed the gryffindor trio to potions.

'You all right with her going along with them?'

'Perfectly fine, Blaise.'

'So… you're not going to hold hands and skip along the corridor now that you two are... what is the term nowadays 'sweethearts'?' -he laughed and Draco sneered at his best friend.

'We're just together. I didn't say I got a personality transplant. What do I look like to you? An idiot?' he narrowed his eyes and proceeded down the corridor, keeping an eye on the chatty Gryffindor trio in front.

'So no hand holding and skipping then? What about lovely nicknames like 'honey bunny' or 'love bug'?'

The scowl that followed Draco's glare would have probably burnt a hole in the wall, so just in case Blaise moved a little to the side. 'No.'

'Ah… that's sad.' the dark wizard chuckled but kept his mouth shut for the remaining journey.

The Malfoy heir put his hands in his pockets and continued to observe the trio. His fingers itched to go over there in four strides and push those idiots aside, put a hand over her waist and lead her towards the classroom without any others around him, but he kept them firmly inside his pockets. He couldn't act like he cared too much. He wouldn't. Thomas laughed at something Hermione said and Draco narrowed his eyes. Then the boy rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. There was a scar. Similar to the ones many other students had. Hm... And then he made his mistake. The boy lowered his hand and put a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

The blonde scowled and touched his wrist briefly, before looking at the trio once again.

'Guys, why are you walking so far away from me?' Hermione asked as she noticed Dean and Neville both took a step in the opposite direction from her. Draco smirked.

Then he turned to Blaise, who was winking at a group of ravenclaws they passed. The ravenclaws looked at them both and proceeded to blow kisses in their direction, two of them clearly looking at the blonde.

'What I don't get is how you go from rumors that you were actually the one who was terrorizing the school to being one of the most popular blokes again. And to top that off, you even announced that you aren't free.'

'Apparently being taken is considered hot. Go figure.' he smiled up at Blaise and then noticed that the group of girls was following them.

Blaise simply shrugged and fastened his pace so they'd get to class in time.

Hermione was seated at her table, so was everyone else. Theodore Nott sat with his legs on the table and appeared to be browsing through a magazine with girls that had very little clothing on.

'Switch with me Blaise.' Draco whispered when they entered.

'What? No way, you had history of magic with her, I'm her regular Potions partner. Go and rub Theo's leg instead. She's gonna be pissed off at me if I let you sit with her.'

'Okay. Your price Blaise. I know you have one, so come on.' the blonde looked over as his best friend gave off a most mischievous grin.

'You'll owe me a favor. I don't know what it will be, but whatever I think of you'll have to fulfill.' his grin spread even more if possible.

'Fine. Just don't ask for my soul or anything.' he proceeded to go towards the table the lovely brunette sat at.

'As if you have one.'

Hermione smiled and raised her eyes to look up at her partner. She expected Blaise, but what she got was the handsome face and smoldering grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. He was just standing there, looking at her intently.

'Hi, why is Blaise sitting over there? We've been partners for months now.'

The blonde put a hand through his hair and she scoffed how his perfect strands fell on his face. How come he was blessed with straight hair and she had to suffer through five different spells in the morning just to make her hair presentable?

'Oh he's going to help out Theo, since he isn't particularly good at the potion we're going to be making today. And I'm no good either, so help me out, all right?'

Hermione made an unlady like snort.

'You're excellent at potions.'

'Ah, you paid me a compliment. Fancy that.' he smiled and she blushed. 'Anyhow, I still need your help.'

'Fine, just please no more touching? I can't concentrate… when you do that..' she blushed and remembered where his fingers burned a trail down her skirt.

'No more touching.' he repeated and brushed a lost lock of her hair behind her ear.

Minutes later Slughorn came and announced the beginning of his lesson. They had to make the most basic elixir that healed dry cough and he was thankful for that. It took them ten minutes to make it and they had to wait another five before stirring. Draco took his wand silently and waved it once.

Hermione watched the cauldron. The mixture was dark purple. Good, a few more minutes and they'd have to stir it when it turned a slightly lighter color. Harry and Ron were having a hard time she noticed. Harry looked like he didn't know what he was doing, which was slightly annoying, since he had learned this specific potion from that blasted book he had in fifth year. Ron was trying his best, but who was he kidding, he really could not do potions NEWT level. She felt a disillusionment charm being cast upon them and she turned towards Draco. He had taken her right hand into his and was tracing circles on her palm with his own fingertips.

'Draco... what are you..?' he looked up at her and continued his ministrations.

'Your hands are fascinating... you could do so much more with those soft hands of yours... yet you write... So much...'

'I need to write down what is said in the lessons. And you said no touching, remember?' – she cast a quick glance towards Slughorn and the other students, but they were all equally occupied and unaware of what they were doing.

Draco smirked at her and she felt her breath gone when he spoke 'Whatever you want.'

Then slowly, ever so slowly he took her hand near his mouth and kissed the second finger. She blushed but kept her gaze on him. Then he put her finger in his mouth and trailed his tongue alongside it.

'Draco… Dr… oh... um...' she let out a slight moan. The blonde released the finger and pressed his lips around the next one, sucking on it. Hermione began to shiver. Then as she was about to burst from redness, he released her hand and went over to the potion to stir it three times counter clockwise.

He then sat down, undid the charm and proceeded to look into his book. Hermione was left shocked. He just did that and then he stopped as if nothing happened? The nerve! How dare he do that during classes? Her anger bubbled over and she slammed her book shut angrily, before going over to get ingredients.

The Malfoy boy looked at the brunette slightly smiling to himself. She was just too cute for words.

When she came back holding a twig of rosemary, he wished for nothing more than to touch her hands again and see her blushing, but she looked up at him and told him he couldn't touch her again until she consented or she'd hex his balls off.

He sneered that he could control himself, but she would be sorry for that. He was already sorry he couldn't touch her. This resulted in him sulking the rest of the potions lesson and all through lunch. He didn't feel like eating when the perfect brunette with those lovely amber eyes sat two rows away from him and allowed Weasley, Potter and Finnegan to touch her carelessly as they pleased (eleven times in total- he counted). How was that fair? He was her boyfriend and yet she forbade him, _forbade _him from touching her. Well whatever, he was a man of patience.

Hermione tried to act cheerful. She tried to talk to Ginny about makeup or listen to Ron whine about the potions homework being too hard, or laugh at the joke Seamus had thrown at the table. But she couldn't. Not when he was two tables away, scraping his plate with his fork, not touching his food and if she didn't know better, Hermione would have said he was sulking. She felt kind of bad about prohibiting him physical contact, but it was just during lessons, he needed to know boundaries. Even if they had gone public, it didn't mean she would disregard her studies and duties and latch onto him like a koala to a tree. No, there were principles. There was a time and place for those things, and it wasn't in class.

'Hey, why are there so many owls with letters today?' Ron asked pointing towards the flock that descended from the upper window. All of them were carrying letters and almost every student received something. She never had her own owl, so one of the owls that belonged to the official Hogwarts owlery descended and dropped her two letters. Harry and Ron both received theirs as well.

'Oh, I remembered. They were supposed to send in the early admins today! Look, I got an invite letter to and also at the Ministry, oh Godrick!'

'Huh?' blue eyes looked very confused.

'You know, they send out invitations to work for them when we finish school! Look at yours Ron and you'll understand.'

Ron opened his and so did Harry (Harry had gotten a few more than Hermione).

'Ministry, aurorship. Cool!' both Harry and Ron exclaimed and hugged each other. Hermione was slightly sad she didn't receive an invite to become an auror, but she had never liked that specific field of work. Being an auror meant a lot of travelling and dealing with dangerous wizards. She had had enough of that during their rogue year. Calm and mentally challenging was her preferred field of work. She looked over towards her boyfriend and noticed that he had no letter on his table. He was blankly starring at his plate, still scraping his fork against it, the corners of his lips turned downwards into a scowl.

Draco refused to look at her any more. He was overly annoyed. The whole no contact thing had only lasted an hour and already he was on edge. He kept telling himself that he was so used to the physical that he felt withdrawal symptoms. They were equal to the ones he had felt for Hermione when he was with Julia.

People from his year were excitedly reading letters of early acceptance into various places and it did slightly make his mood worse. No one wanted an ex death eater to work with. **No one.** It figures, he thought. I have to pay for my parents mistakes. How _nice_. What happened to the whole concept of equality the ministry was spreading? What the hell... He would have not thought about it one bit had it been a year ago, but since the Malfoy family had been funding Voldemort's wishes and demands, they were severely cut off by the Ministry. It was all somewhere, locked up until they proved themselves worthy. What a joke. He scraped his plate with his fork yet again. Theo and Blaise were oblivious to his gloom, so they just ignored him in hopes he would settle down. A wise thing too, he looked like he would send that fork spiraling into someone's eye.

'Excuse me, Malfoy?' – the voice that spoke up was soft and even, it also held too much intelligence that transcended beyond those ten years she looked.

He raised his head to stare up at blue grey eyes of a blonde slytherin. Julia.

She had specifically told him not to engage in conversation with her. So what was this? He remembered he wasn't supposed to know her.

'What do you want, little girl?' – his tone displayed nothing but annoyance. She was the personification of calm in comparison.

'A fifth year slytherin girl asked me to give this to you. Here.' – she pushed a letter into his hands and indeed two rows away a brunette with straight hair and green eyes giggled.

He looked over briefly before taking the letter and saying nothing. The blonde girl walked away.

Theo looked over his shoulder, deciding it was okay to approach the tall blonde next to him.

'Hey, a love letter huh? So old fashioned too. Getting popular with the shy ones now, are you? Wonder what your girlfriend will have to say.'

'It's none of her business. Neither is it yours.' he glared at Theo, who backed away and engaged Goyle and Crabbe in conversation.

He unpacked the letter and leaned back in his seat, so no one would see it.

'_The silly girl did give me a letter, so I thought it would be a perfect excuse to give you my note instead. Can't contact you our way in school, I'm not sure if it's safe. I have a request for you. In DADA attack Snape with a spell. Try different ones to be sure. I'll find you later to see the results._'

Draco crunched up the paper and used his wand to burn it in midair. Attack Snape? Was Julia mad? He'd get thrown out of Hogwarts if he'd get caught. _Don't get caught then or think of something –_his mind supplied.

'Hey, isn't that a little cruel?' Theo butted in yet again. 'I mean the cute girl did write you a letter, you should at least hold on to it as long as she's watching.'

'I'm just doing her a favor by not getting her hopes up.' Draco blankly answered and walked out the doorway.

'Somehow his devil may care attitude is probably going to get her to like him even more. It's so unfair.' Blaise sighted.

A couple of days passed. The head boy and girl shared their dormitories yet again. They were both equally stubborn and he did not touch her once during that time. He would talk, yes, but he refused to acknowledge that he missed their physical contact. He wanted her to come to him. To admit that he wasn't the only one that needed her. She needed him just as much. Of that he was certain.

But it was oh so hard. When she'd walk out of that shower each morning, her raspberry scent would attack his senses like a tidal wave and he'd all but stop himself with a spell to keep his hands to himself, to not go over to her, wrap his arms around her and bury his nose in her hair. As sulky as he was feeling, she was just as cheerful. She seemed happy to be free of his touch and he began to doubt if she even felt anything for him at all. _If it had been only him after all_. If he had deluded himself into thinking that they had something. He had been the one to initiate all physical contact before... Except when she had turned into a cat and announced that she liked him back. Maybe that had changed... no he'd have to be stubborn. He'd have her in the end. He briefly touched his cat's eye that was slightly showing from his right button up sleeve. Draco had gotten a cat's eye to remind himself of the day she told him she liked him.

He didn't get a chance to fulfill his aunt's request for a couple of days either. Defense against the dark arts usually took place Fridays and thus he had to do it today or he'd have to wait another week. It was one of the two classes they had that day. Fridays usually meant two things: only two lessons and prefect meetings with McGonagall.

He walked with his stubborn girlfriend, barely talking along the way, but she seemed perfectly content, holding a book in her hand, flipping the pages through while walking silently. Her perfect auburn curls were bouncing with each step and he almost reached a hand to touch them, but stopped himself and turned his head the other way.

'See? Erica was right. It's just a matter of time. He's getting bored with her. I haven't seen them kissing or even touching once! I knew it couldn't last. I mean she's just a muggle born isn't she? Look at that ordinary looking brown hair. And then look at him... I mean even if he was a _you know who_... he's too hot to pass up. I think I'll try my chance with him...' the conversation died down when they turned a corner. It was strange to get his popularity back. Not that he cared. The girl he wanted and thought that he had was openly ignoring him. She was such a frustrating Gryffindor.

He didn't notice that Hermione clutched her book tighter, almost shaking when she heard them talking. Almost every girl she had met had either insulted her openly or talked behind her back how she wasn't worthy of him, reminding her of her blood status. What infuriated her more was that they were sending love letters and hanging around him much too much lately even after he'd announced they were dating.

She had asked him to stop his physical contact with her during classes. She didn't mean permanently! He was not even kissing her anymore. It felt so strangely empty and irritating. She had watched him sit on the couch reading a scroll, just watching his lips, remembering how he kissed, but he seemed oblivious and did not even turn to her. He'd touch the girls he was talking to, putting his hand on their forearms to make his point. Well that was a group of fifth years that had pretended to be lost. Still! He wasn't doing _anything_ anymore. Her lips ached and her fingers throbbed painfully when she saw him or even thought of him. Malfoy was so deep under her skin she hadn't even realized until now.

When she had asked him to stop touching her during classes she thought she would be able to concentrate better, but she had been a mess every single day. She messed up an easy potion and Blaise had to save them in the end. She forgot to bring her transfigurations essay, which her friends found very odd. Yet when it came to undoing her wrongdoing, she found herself shy and couldn't tell him that she missed his touch.

She was reaching towards his hand when they entered the DADA classroom but he turned left and went to sit down in the back row. She sat down in front next to Dean and Seamus. Harry was present with Ron, who was engaged in conversation with Seamus and seemed to all but ignore his best friend. Harry seemed perfectly fine with that as he flipped through his book.

Snape entered the classroom wearing his usual sneer. The students were used to practicing duels every other lesson and today looked like it would be one of those days. The class was smaller than usual due to a lot of students missing.

'Since many students are recuperating at the Hospital wing due to fatigue and whatnot, we have a much smaller group today. That is just as well... We shall be able to duel in pairs then. Everyone is allowed to pick their own partner today. I don't care as long as you don't kill each other or demolish the classroom... Go on.'

'Professor Snape?'

'Yes... ?' the wizard narrowed his eyes and looked at his blonde pupil with disdain.

'I'd like to duel you today, sir.' the boy smiled slightly and his teacher looked quite surprised.

'I'm sure you can find a partner that you would actually manage to land a hit on.'

'I'm beyond people my age. I wish to indulge in a more interesting duel. If that is all right with you, _professor.'_

Snape said nothing, but walked further along into a corner with his black cloak billowing behind him. The tall blonde followed.

'I am sure you are aware I am not above hurting you to prove that you are not ready to be dueling me, boy.'

'Perfectly clear.' Draco answered, taking his wand in his hand. They bowed to each other.

'Stupefy!' Draco swung his wand, but Snape simply moved his wand and the spell cleared.

'Petrificus totalis!' the blonde tried just as quickly, but all he received was Snape's bored expression.

'Is that all you've got?' Snape lazily moved his wand and whispered 'Sectum sempra' before Draco yelled 'Protego' and was just slightly cut across his right cheek.

'Not bad, . But can you defend when you don't know what's thrown at you?' Snape moved his wand quickly in a pattern Draco did not recognize and several rays of blue and green light flashed at him. He ducked and rolled over the ground in a somersault, escaping them. None of them touched, but Snape wasn't finished. He repeated them continuously for ten minutes until Draco was standing on one knee, slightly out of breath. A crowd had gathered of other students, who decided to stop dueling and watch this one instead as it seemed a lot more interesting.

'Tired so soon, Mr. Malfoy? Want to go for an afternoon snooze?'

Malfoy ground his teeth and swung his wand viciously. 'Serpensortia!' as three snakes appeared all glowing green and extending their slick tongues, hissing at Snape. Then he shouted 'Oppugno!' and the snakes quickly crawled up to Snape and the professor whispered something and theybegan to dissolve into thin air.

At the same time Draco cast a nonverbal petricifus totalis. Snape was so busy trying to fight off the snakes that he shouldn't have been able to defend against the silent spell Draco cast, however the spell never hit. It passed Snape right through. The Malfoy heir stared wide eyed at his godfather. It was impossible. The spell _should have_ hit him. Snape dusted off his cape and stepped off the platform.

'Nice try, Mr. Malfoy. Firing spells one after another so quickly. I should compliment you for not being totally useless. Until next time then.' his onyx eyes glinted darkly as he walked away announcing the end of the lesson.

As the dark haired man walked off Draco looked straight ahead and noticed that the small spider that was present in a cage a few feet away was lying on its back, its small fury legs standing frigidly in the air. It was petrified. So the spell had hit after all.

**(Well that is it for now. I wrote this fairly quickly as I simply wanted to lay low on the main plot and simply have more Draco/Hermione time. Yes they got into an argument again, but I just cant see Hermione going along with Draco's shenanigans in the middle of class and come on, it's so Draco to do that whenever. He just finds her so irresistible :)) I'm already writing the next one, so if you guys review I will post it up sooner (sorry if I'm trying to push you to review, but it would just make me reaaally happy if you did!) Please enjoy the story and I'm up for any suggestions even though I have a fair idea where things are going. )**


	16. Chapter 16: stubborn

Chapter 16: Stubborn

Draco walked into herbology and he was being followed by a herd of giggling girls. Hermione put on her gloves and took the scissors in her hands. A few of his fangirls were in the same class so they were gathering around him, giggling and crowding him while he was putting on his protective gear. He seemed oblivious anyone was around him at all as he continued to stare off into space. His hair was slightly damp and the collar of his shirt was slightly uneven. He must have been caught in the rain. It had begun to drizzle when she left DADA, and it looked like it was raining outside the greenhouse now. Professor Sprout arrived as cheerful as always and his fangirls disappeared to find their places. She was extremely glad for it as their presence annoyed her like nothing else. They were clinging to him, touching him and he didn't even seem to mind.

Professor Sprout announced that they would have to take care of the plant they'd been growing this term, cut off its dead leaves and see if they could be useful while making a blood replenishing potion. Hermione turned her eyes away from Draco and viciously cut one of the leaves off. _Shiff_.

Then she saw that one of the girls had come to him asking for help and pulled him away to help her. _Shiff._ Another leaf fell. Then he smiled slightly back at her before returning to his table. _Shiff shiff shiff_. Three more leaves fell.

She felt a gloved hand hold down her own. She turned around to look into the caring eyes of Neville who was the only one of her friends to share this class with her.

'Hermione, please try to not cut so close to the stem, you might damage it. Your plant has grown up so lovely, it would be a waste.'

'Sorry, Neville, something had me preoccupied.'

Neville turned his head in the direction Hermione had been starring at and saw Malfoy delicately cutting one leaf and inspecting it, before pulling his face into a scowl as it turned yellow and disappeared.

'You should talk to him.'

'What? What are you talking about?'

'Malfoy. Clearly something is going on between you two. You should talk to him about it. I don't think he's the one that would apologize even if he was the one to upset you.'

The brunette lowered her eyes and put her scissors down.

'It wasn't his fault. Not really... I was the one who...'

'All the more reason to talk to him. He's only human after all. At least try? It's making you both feel bad, I can see that...Just be honest.'

'Okay, thank you Neville.' she stared up in front and met _his_ grey eyes. The blonde was looking heatedly at her, his mouth opening slightly as if to say something. Then he averted his gaze and looked back at his plant again.

When class was ended Hermione gathered her things and searched for the head boy, but Draco Malfoy was accompanied by one of _those_ girls as she dragged him through the doorway. The head girl felt angry as she put books into her bag and decided that maybe she didn't want to talk to him after all. She was the last one to leave the greenhouse as she wanted to diffuse her temper at least a little before going into the grounds as she would definitely meet him back at the dormitory. She heard raindrops colliding against the glass of the windows. It was raining outside yet again and it wasn't just a slight drizzle like before. The rain had returned to increase in amount until it was a downpour. She braided her hair into a side braid. Her hair was not only difficult in the morning, it was even worse in humidity. A braid was her only solution to a possible afro when she returned to the castle. She walked out of the doorway and saw him leaning against one of the windows, hiding under a small roof.

'Didn't you go with your fangirls?' – the question escaped her mouth rudely before she could control herself.

'Why would I want to go with them?' he seemed genuinely surprised before his eyes gleamed with recognition. 'Are you... jealous?'

She blushed and averted her eyes to look at the wet stony path in front of her as the rain continued to pour.

'I just do not like them touching you... or talking to you... you are my boyfriend after all.' Hermione still couldn't look into his stormy grey eyes, but she heard him move from his position a little.

'What kind of a boyfriend am I if I can't touch you?.. what am I supposed to do?' his gentle answer startled her. She exhaled and bit her lower lip gently, not knowing that he was watching her and it caused a shiver to run through his body.

'I just asked you to not touch me during classes... I did not say stop… at all..' she felt her own heavy breathing now that he was just a few steps away, boring his intense gaze into her. His proximity seemed even heavier due to the fact that they were completely alone.

'So you _want_ me to touch you?' his voice came out huskier than he had intended as he stepped closer towards her.

'I... um… ' – she was hesitant, but then she remembered that being honest about her feelings was best. He wasn't Draco Malfoy the bully anymore, he was Draco, the boy she had feelings for. The boy she could trust.

'Yes, all I've thought about since that day was that... I don't care when you touch me... I just want... you to..' she whispered before he closed the distance in three long strides and crashed down his mouth onto hers in a heated kiss. He pushed her against the glass door and wrapped his hands around her waist, pressing himself against her to feel as much of her as possible. Their lips teased each other, their breaths mingled and came out in gasps. His tongue slid gently inside her mouth and teased her own tongue before she quickly followed him. It was so hot, it ached, it even burned their lips.

She put one of her hands into his perfect blonde hair, feeling the sleek strands slip between her fingertips and glided the other hand down his back, scraping her nails against his shoulder blades through the fabric of his white school shirt.

She tried to speak between breaths, gasping instead of forming coherent words as his kisses never seemed to stop long enough, though she didn't think she'd want them to stop. No matter how much they kissed, her lips still ached, still wanted more.

'I'm so...mm… sorry… mh… Draco... I ... mm... never…. meant... to...'

He pulled away panting and locked his silvery grey eyes with hers. His gaze was hooded and his lips were swollen.

'I'm sorry. I should have apologized and done this ages ago... I'm an idiot...'

She giggled sweetly and he put a hand on her cheek, caressing it while still looking at her lips.

'Is _the Draco Malfoy_ apologizing to me? And calling himself an idiot? Wait, do I see pigs flying somewhere?'

He groaned and smirked.

'This was a one-time only thing. Shut it Granger or I'm going to kiss you till you pass out.'

'That's fine with me.' she whispered against his lips, closing the distance once again. The rain continued pouring and the small roof above them had a few holes that allowed some drops to escape on them. They were cold and trailed down the blonde's face as he continued to kiss the brunette. One drop ran down her neck and she shivered underneath him. He captured her upper lip in his mouth and pulled until it escaped softly out of his mouth. She pulled him back in again and took her hands in hers and kissed the knuckles of his hands as well as planted a kiss on each fingertip. His grey eyes followed her mouth and he bit down on his lower lip as not to let out a groan.

'Touch me, Draco...' she cooed and he swore under his breath. If only she knew what her voice did to him. His hands glided over a drop on her neck before his mouth found that path and trailed it with his tongue right down into the collar of her button up. His fingers popped the first button open as if to test if he was allowed. She merely closed her eyes and let out a hot breath that tickled his hair.

_Cluck cluck_. She froze as both of them heard heavy footsteps just outside the door they were pressed up against. They quickly pulled apart to find Professor Sprout walking out that said door, who was looking at them curiously, holding a potted flower.

'Got caught in the rain, eh?' she smiled and both teens suddenly found their shoes to be very interesting.

'Yes, we were just about to head out to the prefect meeting, but decided to wait until the rain subsided.' Malfoy was the one that spoke up.

'Ah, I think this rain will last for quite a while. You'd better head on anyway or headmistress McGonagall won't be too pleased. I think you're smart enough to think of some charm to shield you from the rain?'

Hermione nodded, waved her wand and a white umbrella with colored spots appeared.

'We shall head out then professor. Do you want to join us?'

The older woman chuckled. 'I'll be quite all right. You two go ahead.'

Draco took the umbrella and hooked Hermione's arm under his own and they went along the stony pathway in front of them.

'Do you think she saw us?' Hermione asked when they were out of way of her hearing them and he just smirked.

'Probably.'

When they entered the castle she left her umbrella at the stand in front and wanted to go on, but he stopped her gently, pulling her to face him. She looked on curiously and expected him to assault her like he always did, but he just stepped up closer to her. His breath tickled her forehead (he was a whole head taller than her, that bastard). The blonde raised his hands and gently straightened her collar, buttoned her blouse and put a few loose strands of hair in their place. All she could do was look up at him in awe. His grey eyes were looking over her assessing every detail. When several minutes passed he seemed content. He took his wand out, waved it and he was looking dry and perfect as well.

'Why didn't you allow me to do that to myself? That would have been a lot more efficient.' Hermione scoffed, seeing him smile a little.

'I wasn't going for efficient.' – he whispered and pressed his lips gently against her forehead. Then they walked the halls silently up to a secluded chamber near their dormitory, which was always reserved for prefect meetings on Fridays.

They weren't the last to arrive, so they took their seat near the head of the table, where the headmistress sat. A lot of the seats were empty. It was common that they weren't always occupied, but usually only one or two prefects were missing.

The headmistress presented herself and sat down looking over the table.

'Just as I thought, today's meeting is going to be scarce. Well then, for those of you present, do not be surprised as we are going to be joined by a few other students to fill in for the ones that aren't here.'

Hermione looked at the Headmistress with distress. They never changed or added new prefects in the middle of the year.

As if on cue, several more people joined their table. The ones she was most surprised to see were Blaise, Ron and Theodore. Two new ravenclaws and three hufflepuffs joined in as well.

'I do not understand headmistress, why the sudden need for new prefects? The others are missing now, but I do not believe that it should pose a problem. We'll rearrange tasks so that it's all in order.'

The headmistress looked over her student fondly before raising a hand to stop her.

'That is just the thing Miss Granger, seventy perfect of the prefects are not present. And it is not due to some minor incident. I assume you've heard professor Snape mentioning students missing due to fatigue?'

The old prefects and the heads nodded.

'Well it seems that we are really unlucky this year. First the attacks on the students, the ministry meddling and now it seems a disease is spreading around the castle. Well, I don't know if I can call it a disease, but it has affected so many students and even some teachers that I can't call it anything but that.' – she paused looking over the table of students present. 'Many students have been submitted to either the hospital wing or bed rest in their own rooms due to exhaustion and massive fatigue. I thought it could have something to do with studying for the exams, but alas it has been students from all years and all houses. It seems Hogwarts can't even rest after the war. I am beginning to think this school has a curse placed upon it. Why can't we ever just have a year where everyone can study and not have to worry about anything else?' she released a deep breath and silence drew over the table. The sadness in her voice was almost palpable.

'Anyway ' place will be taken by .'

Draco snorted at the idea of Weasley being a prefect, although one of his brothers had been some years before that. Annoying little sort he remembered, always ratting him out whenever he got caught, bribing him never worked compared to the other prefects. _This _Weasley however was the sort to let all girls go if they even winked at him and bash every bloke in the head he didn't like.

Hermione nudged him with her elbow and he simply rolled his eyes.

'It is long overdue, but after Miss Parkinson's passing Mr. Nott will take her place. The other slytherin prefect is ill so will take over. There are two students ill from ravenclaw and three from hufflepuff thus I have requested them to be exchanged as well. The students currently ill will be released from their duties as Poppy has asked me to let them rest even after they recuperate, just so they don't fall back into exhaustion again.'

The meeting went on without a hitch. The new prefects were instructed on their duties, they received their schedules and were told to seek other prefects and the heads if any problem should arise.

Draco left the meeting with Blaise and Theo to go the Quidditch pitch. They had it reserved for training now that their captain was back and the ban on quidditch was lifted (it was stopped due to the ministry investigating Pansy's murder). Draco turned around in the corridor as they were walking, but he didn't see anything. It was strange, for the past couple of days he had always felt like being followed. It was as if a pair of eyes was directed at him, watching over his every move. It was no different this time. But yet again as he turned around, he saw no one.

The blonde sat down on the bench in their locker room. It was warm enough to switch from their winter gear to their summer one, so he was sitting bare chested and looking over the balls they had prepared for training. He had ordered his teammates to run twenty laps around the field because one of his beaters had been late for training. When they asked why they had to run when the whole game was about flying anyway, he simply raised an eyebrow saying that they needed to raise their stamina. No more questions ensued and they were currently running 30 laps, because they had questioned his methods.

He took the closed snitch into his hand, inspecting it. The small ball glistened where tiny rays of sunlight peeked through the clouds and hit it. He flipped it over looking at the markings it had. Nothing too interesting, he didn't feel any specific spell bind it nor was it any different in any other way. It had been the same Snitch he had finally stolen from Potter, thus he had taken upon himself to train with it. He remembered Potter touching it briefly, before rebuking from it and spiraling to the ground. He couldn't understand. The same had happened when he had touched Potter by accident that other day. It was a pattern and somehow it mattered, he was certain of it.

His eyes continued to dance on the small ball of gold when Theodore Nott came into view, out of breath, his hands rested against his knees.

'Can we start the real training now, Draco?' he panted looking at the blonde.

'Aah.' he answered. Then he stood up from the bench and threw the Snitch at Theo. Theodore Nott looked at it wide eyed, before ducking to the side. Draco sharply turned to observe him. Blaise was standing behind Theo, holding the snitch in his hands, his breathing completely even.

'Are we starting now?' Blaise simply raised an eyebrow to look at the two in front of him.

'Yes. Tell everyone to grab their brooms and meet me in the field. I just need to put on a shirt.' Draco turned around and began to dress himself as Theo and Blaise left. He grabbed his broom and left the locker room to be assaulted by even more rays of sunshine. The clouds were leaving the sky, making it a great day to practice Quidditch. And to think he almost regretted booking the field for this time.

He hoped on his broom lazily and ascended into the air where his team was gathered.

'Listen up you lazy asses. If this little run caught you out of breath, think what it will be like when we're up against ravenclaw. They are smart and they are _very_ fast. That's why until then you will have to increase your stamina. That means triple the load I've been giving you until now, plus every little damn exercise I can think of. If you whine, mouth off or annoy me in _**any**_ sort of way- I'll make sure to add extra to that. Understood?'

His players looked grim, except for Blaise who was smirking at Draco.

The blonde decided to ignore his best friend and began the training. Beaters had to fly around different levitating obstacles and continue beating the balls at the chasers, the chasers had to practice flying in different figures and try to score, while the keeper not only had to defend from the chasers, the beaters, but also from rogue balls, who simply appeared out of nowhere.

'Hey captain, mind if I join you on your training?' Blaise flew up to Draco, who was busy opening up the Snitch.'

'You know I always do it alone, Blaise.'

'I know, but I want to make it a tad difficult for you. You did say yourself that everyone has to do an extra load, so that includes you, _Captain_.'

Draco simply shrugged and waited for the Snitch to disappear. Then he dove off in the direction it had gone to, Blaise following right behind him. When the Snitch seemed to appear, Draco would try to reach out and touch it, but Blaise would fly close to him and bump into him to knock him off his goal. Draco was slightly annoyed, but he proceeded anyway. Then the bumping had turned a bit more brutal and the blonde understood what Blaise was doing. The ravenclaws were usually very intelligent players, though their seeker was known to use brute force when necessary. His tactic was to follow the other seeker and when he caught sight of the ball - knock him off his broom and take the snitch for himself. Good thing Draco was used to tricks like this or he would have stumbled.

The snitch took them lower into the air, near the field where everyone else was training. When he thought he had it, Blaise tried knocking into him again. Draco evaded smirking, before he received a mighty blow from one of the balls the beaters had hit. It was so strong, he got knocked off his broom. Draco tried to grab it, but failed by inches. It looked like he was going to fall until yellow rays like wires extended from his left hand and fixated on the broom. Then he leapt up into the air and gallantly landed with his feet on the broom. The whole act was nothing short of acrobatic but the boy on the broom was crossing his arms over and sneering openly at his best friend.

'Why the fuck did you make me do that? You know I don't use that trick unless I absolutely have to?' he yelled when Blaise simply snickered in return. 'What's so funny you damn idiot?'

'Oh nothing. I just wanted Hermione to have a good display of you, is all. I'll resume my training now captain Malfoy.' with that Blaise was gone. And Draco nearly stumbled into a seating position on the broom when he saw two hazel eyes staring at him from the south corner of the field, her braid moving slightly with the wind. She had come to watch his training.

He sat down on it and descended next to the brunette Gryffindor.

'How long have you been watching?' he was feeling slightly uneasy and angry at Blaise for not telling him she was here. It figures that's what he was grinning about. What if he had made a fool out of himself by falling on his arse? He wouldn't have been able to look her in the eyes. Somehow he wondered if that wasn't what Blaise had been going for instead_. Arse_.

'Since you made them run laps.' she smiled when he jumped off the broom and came to stand in front of her looking uncomfortable. 'It was very impressive. I've never seen you do what you just did. Did you actually use magic? That isn't allowed is it?'

'At practice anything is allowed. Plus I don't use it if I can help it... though it's not actually breaking the rules.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well the rules state...'

'...that wands cannot be used on any player, broomstick, referee, spectators or any of the four balls during the game.'

'Yes, _Miss Rule book_. I was supposed to guess you'd even know the Quidditch rules by heart.' he placed his hand on hers carefully, linking their fingers as if testing to see if she would disentangle. When she did not however, he smiled just a tiny bit. 'But it's not against the rules to use nonverbal magic. Is it?'

She seemed to be in thought. 'It is implied… But don't worry. I won't tell anyone. That was way too impressive and it assures me that you can protect yourself from getting hurt.' She shied over and gently touched his lips in a featherlike kiss. Whistles could be heard from a distance and the two pulled apart.

Draco growled slightly at being interrupted, but Hermione only smiled.

'I'll be going now or else I might slip some of your tricks to the Gryffindor team.' she winked and released his hand, walking away.

Draco watched her retreating figure before turning around angrily and shouting: 'DID I TELL YOU LOSERS TO STOP TRAINING? FUCKING SLACK OFFS GET BACK TO WORK OR I WILL HEX YOUR ASSES BACK TO THE SLYTHERIN DORMS!'

The Malfoy heir stretched a little while walking back to the castle. His team was still changing and he decided to take a little walk around the castle grounds now that he could again. He proceeded down the field and away from the castle until he stopped. The wind was blowing slightly, shifting through his dark blue shirt and he had his hands in his pockets. The grass a few feet behind him crunched and he tightened his hand around the wand he held in his left pocket.

'I know you've been following me for four days now. Reveal yourself and state your purpose. It's been _pissing me off_ to feel watched. Or else, you will most definitely be sorry.' his wand was out of his pocket and he twirled it around between his fingers.

Draco turned around and his eyes slightly widened when a figure stepped out from a large tree.

'You..? Why would a Weasley be following me?' Ron's eyes hardened as he silently walked out from behind the tree.

'I wanted to talk to you, _Malfoy_.'

Draco smirked. 'I didn't know we were friends enough to chitchat leisurely, _Weasel_.'

'This isn't that kind of chat, _Ferret_.'

'Out with it Weasley, I don't feel like standing here all day. Is this about me dating Granger? If that's it you'll have to forget your jealousy, she doesn't want you. She wants _me_. You weren't man enough for her.' his grey eyes were intently staring back at the ginger, capturing his every move. He didn't trust the Weasley and he would keep his eyes on him at all times if he could help it.

'Mione is capable enough to judge other people by herself. If she is in fact dating you... that means she trusts you. I will not question her judgment.'- Draco momentarily lost focus upon hearing those words.

'Weasley...' he didn't know what to say. He was prepared for a lashing out of her friends when he announced publicly they were dating, had been readying himself for it even. But this was... to say unexpected. And he rarely got caught off guard.

'However...' – Ron spoke quietly as he strode towards Draco, grabbing him by his collar, his tone even and harsh. 'I don't trust you with Harry. Tell me, what did you do to him?'

'I didn't touch Potter, fuck off.' grey eyes narrowed, his tone also even.

'I know you did _something_. What was it? What kind of a spell was it that made Harry change so much?' blue eyes assaulted grey ones, but neither of them backed away from the fight. Draco said nothing, recalling the Quidditch match yet again. Then Ron drew his right hand into a fist and slammed it against Draco's jaw, sending him flying back.

'I didn't do anything you damn Weasel. Check your memory first before attacking me. Were you not in that match as well?' he wiped the blood that ran down his split lip.

'I saw you both going towards the snitch and then Harry was dropping. What happened to him?'

'Why the _fuck_ should I tell you _**anything**_ if all you'll do is keep attacking me?' Draco stood up, dusting himself off.

'I'll listen. I won't hit you anymore... just tell me. Harry is my best friend and he's been so off... he can't even do magic properly... also Hermione told me he found Astoria with her and didn't call anyone to help her after just disappearing... it's not the Harry Potter I know. It's not. I really don't like you, but I want to believe you can be a decent human being if Hermione thinks so. Tell me what's wrong with him?' Ron was looking dejectedly at the ground, clenching his right fist, watching the small patches of grass be swayed by the wind. 'I will even do something I never thought I'd do to someone like you, but... _please_ Malfoy. Tell me what you did to Harry so I can return him to being my best friend again.'

Draco's sneer left his face for a moment to contemplate. Ron looked desperate as he pleaded with him. If it had been a year ago, he would have paralyzed him and rubbed his boot in the ginger's face.

He would have sneered and laughed about him being so pathetic that he lost his girl to him and his best friend as well.

He would have stomped on his pride so hard the Weasel would never have recovered.

Hermione's face flashed before his eyes. The way she had hugged her two best friends, smiled at them. The way they had always defended her, even from him. She wouldn't be the person she was today if not for them. He knew deep inside, no matter how much he despised the Weasley boy in front of him, the ginger was her _friend_. Someone like Blaise was to him. _Damn that girl_. He could petrify and then hurt the Weasley in front of him. He wasn't even looking up, completely defenseless. He should hex him right now and... ugh! _Damn that beautiful brunette straight to the depths of hell._ She made him question everything he knew about himself.

The blond adjusted his collar and slowly walked up to the Weasley boy, stopping just inches away from him. They were almost the same height, thus eye contact wasn't difficult. When the ginger raised his eyes, Draco brushed his bloody thumb against the Weasley's forehead, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Ron narrowed his eyes, but then his stare went blank. In his mind he saw exactly what Draco had seen: Harry touching the snitch, recoiling, a force that blew him off his broom, him falling and Draco chasing after him. Ron backed away for a moment and then Draco slammed his fist into Ron's right cheek with full force.

'I didn't do anything to Potter.' the blonde said and then walked away. 'That's for hitting me. I always repay my debts.'

His voice wasn't as cold or as emotionless as Ron had expected. It had been understanding. Even though it was completely illogical, he felt himself smile slightly. Draco Malfoy wasn't such a bad bloke after all anymore. Hermione probably had rubbed off on him.

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**(this chapter is a bit short, I know, but I had a lot more planned after that and I didn't want to divide. Okay, so I don't know if you liked this chapter, but I wrote it while it was raining and I really adore kissing in rain scenes wherever whenever, so I put one in. Yay! The only theme for this chapter was – Ron and Draco are going to have a confrontation. Everything else came out of the blue (like always). I can't comprehend how I'm able to drag this on for so long, but then again I don't want it to be bam- bad guy is completely revealed, defeated and happily ever after. Somehow... I want to encompass all the little things I want to. I recently had an idea of writing it from an unexpected point of view it will be a gift for my best friend who bugs me about it not being enough Snape in this story. I keep telling her he's dead, but she still wants more of him, so here ya go then- in the next chapter.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh and please read and review! Since there have been reviews for my last chapter, I'm posting this one up early as a sign of gratitude! I already have the next one in the making so if you're diligent with your reviews, I'll be diligent with posting. Have a great day!). (P.s. if some things don't make sense, its cause this site keeps cutting off some things, like it always hates when I ad , it completely takes it out! Tell me if you notice anything else odd and I'l try to fix it.)**


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